Venia
by WordOfTheDay
Summary: Entreri. A name that is feared throughout the shinobi nations, and one that is taken on by Naruto. Armed with two legendary blades and the powers of both Kyuubi and Shukaku, he will shape the world through his power.
1. Chapter 1

The Line of Entreri

Venia 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Forgotten Realms**

"Prepare to meet your death." Was the only statement that came out of the young boy's mouth before he jumped into action. His opponent was a man twice the boy's size and was covered in muscles. The man's jet black hair shook with each movement he made, and the giant long sword strapped to his back swung menacingly from the sheath on his hip.

"Ha! A little boy like you? Defeat me? Foolish child…" The man's deep voice laughed for a few more seconds before he too went into a fighting stance.

The battle was long, and it was hard, for both boy and man. The child jumped into the air bringing down his only weapon, a long silver dagger and struck. But the muscled adult sidestepped and parried the boy's attack. The blonde boy was a blur of movement, weaving, ducking, and stabbing whenever he got the chance. To an observer, it might've looked like a deadly macabre dance of death. Blood spurted from small wounds as they pierced veins, and arteries unknown to the big man himself. He felt himself weakening as his precious life flooded out of his body.

He looked ahead of him and saw the child. 'An angel of death… might I know it's name before I die? This genius of fighting, a child with the power of God himself, yes, before I fall into oblivion, I would know his name.'

"Child… what is your name?"

The boy paused his attack to listen, and ponder his answer. The whiskered child saw the man before him begin to falter, droop, and fall on the floor. He saw the black haired fighter draw breath after labored breath, and finally gave his answer.

A whisper drifted from his lips to just barely reach the dying man's ears. "Entreri."

It began like this…

In a land far away from the realm where ninja's lived, fought, and died, a man named Artemis Entreri was in a place called the Spine of the World. The reason he was there was to restart his life in a new land. This was to be done through the power of Crenshinibon the artifact, and its master, Jarlaxle.

"I guess this is it. I'll be going now."

"Have fun Artemis, enjoy your new life." And with those parting words, Artemis Entreri walked out of the life of Jarlaxle.

Artemis took a deep breath, grasped his trusty dagger, let his breath out, and walked into the portal.

Naruto World

In a forest near the village of Kumogakure, a blinding flash of blue light appeared, and just as fast as it appeared, it dispersed. In the blue flash's wake, it left a child, no older than 10 holding a dagger in his hand and smiling.

"Get ready, Entreri is in town."

Through his skills as an assassin he made his name known throughout the mercenary world, and soon got attention from the 5 great ninja villages. But the one thing that set him apart from your normal assassin/ninja, was his lack of chakra. He could easily defeat any ninja that came his way, and was feared. But as the years went on, he grew tired of cutting ninjas down like grass, and decided to take on an apprentice.

He trained his apprentice in the ways of silent killing (**A/N: Forgotten Realms style )** and the assassin way. All of this training was done without the use of chakra, and soon his apprentices name was to be feared among the nations. When Artemis's life was coming to a close, he brought his apprentice to him, and gave him his dagger. When the apprentice was presented the dagger, he was in shock.

"Master… this dagger…m-m-me?"

"Yes. This dagger is for you now. I will now tell you how to use it, and from this moment forth, you are no longer my apprentice, you are the new Entreri, you will carry my name. Never forget, this dagger is powerful, powerful beyond most people's comprehension. But don't let the power it gives you to let yourself slack off. And when you feel it is right, you take an apprentice, and do the same that I have done for you."

"It shall be done." The apprentice kneeled before the original Entreri and accepted the dagger.

"Now, the abilities of your dagger…" Artemis told the new Entreri of its abilities and then passed away with a smile.

Decades later…

The line of Entreri was kept alive as Master passed the dagger onto student, and so forth. Finally, the 6th Entreri was searching for an apprentice.

A small blonde haired, blue eyed child was running frantically for his life from a murderous crowd intent on killing or maiming him.

'_Not again… why do they want me?'_ After a long chase, the child found himself in a dead end, and the crowd closed in on him. His screams were heard throughout Konoha.

After the crowd had satisfied their anger and hatred upon the boy, the small kid was laying there in a pool of his own blood looking up at the sky. But a large figure soon blocked his view of the sky and he instinctively cringed. This small movement pulled a cry of pain from his throat and the figure kneeled down next to him.

"Do you want to live?"

The boy shook his head no.

"Perfect. This means that we can start from a fresh slate. A person with no will to live will put his all into a fight, because he doesn't fear death. And a man who fears not even death, will become invincible."

The figure pulled out a jewel studded dagger and jammed it into a place near the child's heart. When he pulled his dagger back out, the boy's body involuntarily arced up and red chakra began spilling out of him. During this, the man smiled and jumped back. The boy began to scream as the chakra began healing his wounds, and then it stopped. The wounds had all disappeared, and then the man picked up the unconscious boy and leapt away.

The next day…

The child opened his eyes too see blinding light from the sun and moved his right arm to shade his eyes. But to his surprise, his right arm wasn't responding. When he went to look over to see his arm, he noticed it wasn't there.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! My arm… my arm… my arm… it's g-g-gone…"

"I see you have noticed that you are lacking a right arm and a right leg… merely side effects to cutting your normal chakra circulatory system. But fear not little one. I have a solution. It's called robotics."

The man pulled out a small metallic cube, and rammed it into the stump that had once held an arm, and took another cube, and put that into the area of the missing leg.

"R-r-robotics?"

"You'll understand when you wake up. For the time being, just think that you're going to get your arm and leg back. See you in a few days."

Before the child could respond he felt an excruciating pain in his leg and arm and began to scream once more.

"Oh yeah… what's happening right now, is the robotics adapting to your nervous system… I figured I would tell you that before you fell unconscious again…"

The boy slowly began to pass out from the pain as the metallic cube started to expand and take the vague form of a leg and arm. It was all in an amorphous state at first, but as time went on, it started to form, and finally, it took the shape of a normal leg.

The next days passed in silence, as the small child was still out from the growing of a robotic arm and leg. Finally, when the kid awoke, he stared at his captor with blank, dead eyes.

"I wanted to die. I wanted to be left alone. Why?"

"You wanted to die because of that hellish existence you led in Konoha. But here, you start clean, you will be trained, and you will, if you so desire, get revenge on the people that did this to you. And in order to do that, you must stay here."

The boy just stared at him through his cold, blue orbs and then lowered his head as if in reluctant acceptance.

"As long as it will get this over with. I'll just keep fighting till I die."

Then the boy passed into sweet blissful sleep.

Years passed and soon the Master had taught the boy everything he knew about dagger fighting. The boy was unable to use his normal chakra, due to the cutting of it by his master. But he could use the chakra of the demon fox that lived inside of him. This chakra was unable to be used for techniques or moves, and so the use of hand-seals was rendered useless, not that an Entreri would need to use them in the first place. But the use of the strange red chakra was used to heighten his strength, speed, power and all of his senses. He grew quite proficient in using his robotic arm and leg to his advantage, and had finished his learning of all the killing techniques and the use of the dagger. All this was expected, because of course, he was to be the new Entreri. In a few years, his master would be able to retire, and thus, create the 7th Entreri in the process. All the Entreri's had no names. They once did, before they were chosen, but they threw them away and only went by the name of Entreri.

Finally it was time for the apprentice to take on his first mission.

"Boy, it is time for you to kill."

"Yes, master."

And with that short exchange, the young child, now aged 10, jumped off into the night. He kept going until he arrived at a small village. He then proceeded to pull out a scroll and read it.

Village: Calimport

Population: 300+

Target: Short man, about 162cm.

Brown Haired

Skinny, about 140-150 llbs

Called Basadoni by the people around him

Dressed in rich expensive clothes

Details: Probably has guards around him at all times. Nothing to be scared of, just weaklings.

What could be called a smile crept across the boy's face as the moment he had been waiting for soon arrived. A carriage surrounded by multiple guards was crossing the road, and so Entreri sprang into action. Without even taking his dagger out of it's sheath, he smashed the hilt into the head of one, then knocked another into the air, and before either of them could react, he slit their throats. The spray of blood flew into the air and covered the area. But before the fresh blood could even land, more began spilling into the vicinity. Two more bodies slumped to the ground to join their comrades into oblivion. When Basadoni opened the door to check up on the ruckus outside, he was met by a blood covered child with an insane grin on his face.

"Blood… ah… it's been awhile…but not as satisfying as I hoped." The child then pulled the dagger out of it's sheath and before Basadoni realized it, his entrails were spilling out and he was frantically trying to put them back in but to no avail. The boy just turned his back on him and walked away.

The next two years passed in much the same way, and the soon to be Entreri was getting weary of the simple easy assassination missions given to him. He had changed. From the time he accepted to be Entreri's apprentice, he started speaking less, and when he spoke, it would be short and to the point. He was a veritable killing machine. He had killed his emotions, buried his heart, or kept it hidden very well. But either way, he was a true shinobi. If not for the fact he still didn't fight with his chakra.

One day, he was called by his master, and entered his master's study. To him was passed the same ritual that made a man a true Entreri.

"My boy… I raised you to be the perfect Entreri. Now here's my last mission to you. You may be confused by it's meaning, you may not understand, you may hate my memory for doing this to you but here it is…"

At the end of the mission explanation, the newly appointed Entreri stared at his master, no… ex-master in shock. Then he regained his composure, nodded, and left his ex-master. The old Entreri, due to an old disease, died a few days later. And at his death, Entreri began his mission.

Entreri began packing his things and put on his armor. It wasn't really much, but it was the full body suit similar to the one that Kakashi wears **(A/N: This is to all you fools out there who believe that Kakashi just wears a face mask… it's a full body suit or at least covers the chest area. NOT just a face mask. Remember it.)** and some plates of metal to cover his shoulders, his sides, his thighs, and his shins. Then, to finish it off, he put on his dagger. His dagger, the same dagger that had been passed down from generation to generation of the Entreri line, the same dagger that had caused multiple assassination attempts on each Entreri, and the same dagger, that if cut by it, can suck the soul out of a person's body, leaving a dry desiccated husk. And as usual, he wore his blank, indifferent face.

Entreri, formerly known as Naruto, was from the village Konoha. A fact that he had forgotten, until his deceased master had refreshed the boy's memory.

_Flashback_

"_Your name…is, no, was, Naruto. And you came from Konoha, I rescued you from certain death at the hands of the villagers. You were tormented day and night by them and their hatred of you. Remember?"_

_The young child opened his eyes in shock as the memories of his childhood, if you could call it that, flooded his brain. Every single strike, every single curse, all the things that were done to him was remembered. He didn't like it._

"_The mission is this. Forgive them for what they have done, for they did not know what they were doing. This is going to be the last time I'm going to speak to you. I-I will die in a few days because of an illness that I was never cured of. Go my child, go out into the world, and complete this last mission that I have put upon you. This will be the hardest mission of them all. Good luck."_

_Once again, the child stared at the man who was his teacher, his master, and kind of like the father he had never known. And for the first time in years, a lone tear fell down his face._

_The question that had never been fully answered, was asked again, "Why? Why is this happening to me?"_

_End Flashback_

He had been gifted and cursed by the same thing. His photographic memory. In normal circumstances he would've enjoyed the fact that he remembered every little detail of his entire life. But for him, circumstances were most definitely not normal. Another stray tear fell down his cheek.

'_This liquid. Is it rain? No…it is… a tear drop. Could my body be trying to expel excess fluids? No. Then why?'_

Being raised by a ruthless killer, his knowledge of human emotions was limited. All he knew of was to kill. His highly analytical mind slowly ran over the conversation he had with his teacher over and over. Finally he arrived at a solution.

'_In order to forgive somebody, or in this case, a lot of somebodies, I must get to know them. I am going to Konoha.'_

He set off.


	2. Chapter 2

The Line of Entreri

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Forgotten Realms**

………………………………………………………………………………….

_And he set off. _

1 week later-

As Entreri was walking through Konoha he was reading a piece of paper.

'I'm supposed to find a certain Uchiha, master said that fighting him will increase my fighting abilities. Might as well start now.'

When he looked up from his reading, he noticed he was in the midst of a huge crowd.

'This seems to be a good place to ask around for him…'

He went up to a random, but knowledgeable looking villager and asked, "Do you know where I can find a certain Uchiha?"

The villager's eyes opened wide and he smiled. He then yelled for 'The Uchiha' and the message was passed down through the crowd until a boy, about Entreri's age, forward. Then everything went back to it's normal routine.

"I take it you're looking for me?" The boy asked. The boy had spiky black hair and an arrogant sneer on his face.

Entreri blinked a few times, examining the child, frowned, and looked at his paper again.

'Hmmmm… this doesn't seem right. The paper says that he a straight black hair, lines under his eyes, and is a bit taller and older looking…'

He looked up from his reading, still frowning, and asked, "What's your name?"

"Uchiha Sasuke." Was the reply, and with a touch of pride when he said Uchiha.

Another frown.

"That's not right. Nevermind. Could you tell me the whereabouts of an Uchiha Itachi?"

At this, the boy's eyes hardened into a cold glare, and he snarled, "What do you want with him? Are you some sort of hunter-nin?"

Enteri stood there, unfazed, and replied, "I was wishing to fight him… is there something wrong with him? Is he out of duty now?"

The boy, now known as Sasuke, then demanded, "Fight me."

"No. My mission has nothing to do with you."

As he was turning to walk away, he sensed Sasuke throwing a particularly vicious kick his way. So then he dropped to the ground, lifted up his legs, and caught Sasuke's leg with his feet. After catching Sasuke's leg, he spun his body, thus sending Sasuke spinning as well. While Enteri landed on his feet, Sasuke landed with a resounding 'Thud' at a wall.

The Enteri, dusting off his hands, then said, "Like I was saying earlier, my mission has nothing to do with you. The only way I would fight a random person, was if they were to atta-"

He was unable to finish what he was saying as multiple kunai and shuriken went flying at him. He frowned, then pulled out his sheathed dagger, and blocked all of the missiles. In a flash of movement, he was at Sasuke's face, and proceed to take the dagger by the blade (he was holding the blade part of the dagger, still in it's sheath) and slammed the metal hilt into Sasuke's stomach. While the Uchiha was flying backwards, he caught up to him and backhanded the boy with his hilt. When Sasuke finally stopped at the wall, he took the hilt and smashed it, not too hard, into Sasuke's forehead. And in one fluid motion, unsheathed the dagger and held it to the last Uchiha's throat.

"Do you give up? If you want to die, then by all means keep on attacking, but if you know what's good for you, then I suggest you cease your foolishness."

The boy, now with a small trickle of blood running down his face, grunted something that if you squinted hard enough, and tilted your head a little to the left, would remotely resemble a , "I give up…"

………………………………….

Strolling down the marketplace, a grey-haired jounin was grinning and reading a certain orange book that we have all grown to know and love. He was thinking about the amazing 'G' rated content in the book and about what a wonderful day it was. At least, that was until he came upon an alley that had a stranger holding a dagger to his student's throat. Now you see, this was an alleyway that the cycloptic jounin took as a shortcut home, and never once before had he seen something like this. So he sprang into action, or rather, walked into action.

He calmly strolled up to the stranger and asked, "What are you doing?"

The stranger turned his head to face the newcomer, "I was attacked. I was defending myself, did so, and was about to leave."

The stranger then pulled his dagger away from the boy's neck, sheathed it and began walking away. But before he got far, he was stopped by the jounin.

"Sir, you're coming with me."

The stranger stared into the jounin's eyes, and the gray-haired man involuntarily shuddered at the sight that greeted him. The gaze that he was face with held no emotion, nothing. What was there, was a deadness, a deadness of the soul, mind, and heart.

"I did nothing wrong."

But finally, Entreri went along with the jounin without any trouble. Actually, it would be better to say, they patched Sasuke up, patted him on the back, and sent him along his merry way. (mostly Kakashi's doing…)

When they reached their destination, which turned out to be the Hokage Tower, they requested immediate audience with the Sandaime. After about a 30 minute wait, they got in.

"Hokage-sama, I'm here to bring a person who I found attacking my student, Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke-san wishes to press charges."

"Ah. I see, Hatake-san, good work, you are dismissed." And with a wave of his hand, Kakashi poofed away in a cloud of grey smoke.

Now, the Hokage turned his attention to the average built boy, expecting to measure the child up, but instead, to his surprise, found the kid looking at him, as if making assumptions, and measuring HIM up.

"So, may I ask you, what is your name?"

At this, the boy, froze for a second.

'_Your name is, no, was, Naruto.'_

"My name… is Entreri." When the Hokage heard that fabled name uttered from the lips of this child, he was shocked. But after regaining his composure, he motioned for the boy to sit and so Entreri sat. When he looked at the boy, he was once again amused/disturbed. He was amused by the fact that where most children fidgeted and stared at the ground, the boy looked him right in the eye. But he was disturbed by the eyes that the boy had. They held too much knowledge, seen too much pain. They had looked beneath the bed and discovered that there really were monsters lurking in the shadows.1 And he also made the same observations that Kakashi had made. Those eyes, they were dead.

"Entreri, I would like for you to come walk with me."

The boy just nodded and followed the old man out the door and onto the streets. They walked and just walked in silence until they came upon a run down looking ramen shop named Ichiraku's Ramen. Inside it was a young boy who was inhaling the ramen like air. It seemed as if the boy would never sense their presence so the Hokage announced himself with an "AHEM."

At this sudden noise, the boy looked up from his ramen slurping with irritation, until he recognized the Hokage. The boy's eyes widened in surprise and he began choking on his noodles. He fell to the ground gasping for air, until finally it passed. When he found himself again, he stood up and bowed deeply to the Hokage, and a slight nod to Entreri.

"Yes Hokage-sama?" The Hokage then smiled at the young boy, and then said,

"Ah…Kaoru, it's nice to see you again, I would like you to give…" The Hokage seemed to be stuck in indecision as to whether to say Entreri's name "…Entreri here, a tour of the village."

"Gladly Hokage-sama!" And with that the two were off, Kaoru prattling on about this and that, talking about all the gossip going around the village, and Entreri slowly soaking it all up, storing it away for later use. When they were walking around a shady part of the village, they heard a beating going on, it seemed that a man was beating his wife.

"Entreri c'mon, we gotta help her!" But no matter how much Kaoru tried, Entreri didn't move to help.

"What's wrong with you? Why don't you help?!?"

Entreri's face was impassive, "Didn't your own textbooks state that ninja's and assassins jobs are not to protect, but to kill the enemy? Only when a mission's objective is to protect the person, do you do that, but otherwise, it is not our job to do so."

Kaoru's face grew angry, but then tears began to well up in his eyes, "What happened to you? Don't you have any emotions? Feelings?"

At this Entreri sank into deep thought as Kaoru ran off to go help the lady in distress. Emotions, a thing that he had deemed useless years ago, a thing that he had buried so far back into his soul, so deep, and watered with the blood of his enemies until it was a centimeter from being erased from his existence. And now, a boy he had met for the first time in his life, brought it back up. He stood in shock, as the centimeter grew to two centimeters, and slowly started reaching up from its deep grave. But sensing this, he stamped it back down. Although the crisis was over, the damage was done. The blood caked dirt of his soul was slightly cracked.

When he came back to reality, he saw that Kaoru had done 'justice' to the offender and had sent the lady on her way to the hospital to get her wounds treated. And finally he was back. Seeing Entreri still standing there, slightly dazed, he went up to him and slapped him. Entreri recoiled in shock, and from the strength of the blow. He brought his hand up to the place where he had been struck, pulled it away and saw a slight smear of blood. He shrugged it off and began walking away.

"Hey! Yeah, you!" Kaoru shouted at Entreri's back, Entreri, hearing this, turned around.

"I heard you beat up the all-mighty Uchiha today." Entreri then cocked his head to the side in interest.

"I thought it was about time someone knocked him off of his high horse."

When Entreri thought the boy was finished, he began talking, "It was not my objective to as you so elegantly put it, 'knock him off of his high horse'. I was looking for an Uchiha Itachi."

"So that's what started the fight…" Kaoru put on a 'I-know-something-you-don't-know' face.

Entreri, sensing the other's knowledge, inquired deeper, "What? How did I provoke him?"

"Well, a few years ago, Sasuke's brother, Itachi, killed his, as in Itachi's, best friend. All this was in order to achieve the highest form of the sharingan, the Uchiha's doujutsu. After killing his best friend, Itachi then proceeded to slaughter every single Uchiha clan member except for Sasuke. He then used his newly acquired Mangekyou Sharingan to put Sasuke into an extremely strong technique, the Tsukiyomi. So now, Sasuke has sworn eternal vengeance against Itachi. He's an avenger now." The last part was stated as if it were the most obvious statement in the world. So when Kaoru was finished talking, he nodded his head showing finality.

"Ah. I see. Well, I take my leave." And with a turn of the heel Entreri disappeared in a blur.

……………………………………………………..

The next day-

"Entreri, I would like you to accompany Team 7 on their mission to Wave Country. It is an escort mission, and it will be to test your abilities."

"I understand." Entreri bowed and turned to leave.

1 hour later…

Entreri was waiting at the West Gate with the other members of Team 7. Entreri was holding 4 files in his hands and was currently reading one of them.

'Haruno Sakura. Comes from a non-shinobi family, single child. Below average skills in all departments except for theory and chakra control due to small reserves.'

He looked at his pink haired teammate, who was ogling her 'sexy' raven haired teammate and fantasizing about their future family. Entreri closed the file.

'Uchiha Sasuke. Last living loyal member of the Uchiha Clan. Only survivor of the Uchiha Massacre. High fire ability and has not yet acquired the Sharingan. Above average chakra reserves, high genin level ninjutsu, average taijutsu, and lacking in genjutsu.'

Entreri closed the file and glanced over at Sasuke, who was currently scrutinizing the new addition to the mission and sending death glares. Entreri noticed this, shrugged, and pulled out a new file.

'Hitachiin Kaoru. A third generation shinobi. No special bloodlines. Loud, brash, and considered the dead-last of the academy. Large chakra reserves, longs to be the Hokage, and is above average in ninjutsu, but highly lacking in other skills.'

He once again glanced over, but this time at his other teammate, Kaoru. Kaoru was sitting on the fence with a sloppy grin on his face and pointedly staring at Sakura. Entreri sighed, much disappointed, and opened the last file.

'Hatake Kakashi. Son of the famous 'White Fang'. Possess a sharingan eye, and is rumored to have copied over a thousand jutsu, thus giving him the nickname 'Copy-Eye Kakashi'. Highly skilled in all departments. Also famous for his only original technique, the Chidori and his chronic lateness which spans from about 1 and a half hours to 3 hours.'

He looked around but found no sign of Kakashi and Tazuna, the person they were to protect. He closed the file and put his hand on the hilt of his trusty dagger, which was currently strapped to the left side of his hip. He had changed his outfit for the mission, and was wrapped in bandages covering his arms, chest, and face. His blond hair was covered by his cloak and had a kunai, shuriken, and senbon holsters strapped in various places on his body. He also had a utility belt filled with various weapons, like wires and explosive tags.

The Entreri was starting to feel bored when Kaoru approached him.

"So… Entreri. You excited?"

"Not especially." Entreri responded in his usual monotone.

"Wanna train right now? Kakashi-sensei won't come for about another hour or so." Kaoru energetically tugged on part of Entreri's cloak.

"Okay."

They both moved into a clearing and got into their separate stances. Entreri pulled out a dagger with its sheath. The dagger was out of the sheath, but wasn't his special dagger. Holding the sheath in one hand, and the dagger in the other, he held them in a cross shape, gripping his sheath backwards and his dagger normally.

"First Dance."

At this Sasuke, turned to watch the two combatants and wondered how Entreri would fight.

'I must find the source of his power. Maybe watching him fight will help me. Defeating Entreri will be a stepping stone on my path to finally killing Itachi.'

Meanwhile, back on the training field, Kaoru moved into a loose academy fighting stance. Both stood there waiting for the other to make the first move, when Entreri blurred out of sight. Sasuke gasped because he couldn't even see the cloaked figure move, and cursed himself for his weakness. Kaoru grinned and awaited the coming challenge. Sensing a presence to his left he attempted to block with a kunai of his own but had it deflected by Entreri's sheath. Then Entreri slashed at Kaoru's stomach with his dagger but Kaoru jumped back fast enough.

During the fight Kakashi had come upon the two and was watching silently in a tree.

'Interesting character. Wonder what he's like when he's pressured.'

Finally, Entreri, weaving in and out of his opponents movements and creating small nicks and cuts popped up behind Kaoru and held his dagger to his throat.

"I win."

And the fight was over. Kaoru was grinning like usual, determined to get stronger. Sakura, who had finally wrenched her attention from Sasuke's amazing spiked hair to watch part of the fight wondered about her resolve to be a shinobi.

Kakashi jumped from out of the tree and Tazuna came strolling down the path and the group set off.

Two days passed with Kaoru talking to Entreri about shinobi life and life inside of Konoha. To Entreri, Kaoru's words flowed over him like sunlight, in the process warming him.

Deep inside the dirt of Entreri's soul during those two days, a hand began reaching up through the cracks made by the previous attempt. Finally, when the hand reached the surface, instead of stamping it down like usual, Entreri reached down to the hand and pulled up. Out of it came something. It was in the shape of a man, and he was labeled, 'Friendship'.

On the third day, Entreri noticed a puddle in the road.

'Strange, it hasn't rained in days…' But he ignored it and kept on walking, when he noticed two presences next to Kakashi. Before he could react, the two ripped Kakashi to shreds using a chain that was in between them. Then the two focused their attention on Entreri, who seemed to be the next most powerful. They approached him and sprang forward. To Sasuke, Kaoru and Sakura, they only saw the special blade of Entreri's moved a centimeter out of its sheath, when both enemy shinobi got a nick on their cheeks.

"You die here."

But the two shinobi thought differently, "Hah, as if a small cut on my cheek could kill me."

"Sadly enough, it will." Then Entreri focused on the jewel embedded in the hilt of his dagger and the green gem began to glow. When it started to glow the two enemies began to feel their life essence flowing out of their bodies and into the strange glowing green gem.

"AHHHHHH---"

But their scream was cut off as the last bit of their essence was flowing from the gem to Entreri's body. He then opened his eyes and breathed out.

'I haven't killed anybody in a while. That felt…good. I am much stronger now.'

The three other genin stared at Entreri in shock. He had easily dispatched two B-rank missing nin without so much as breaking sweat. At that moment, Kakashi walked out of the forest clapping.

"Great job Entreri."

Entreri nodded his head and motioned for the team to move on. But Kakashi had other ideas.

"Tazuna, I believe you have some explaining to do."

Then Tazuna spilled the beans on Wave Country and Gatou. The team agreed to finish the mission, but all were on extra high alert for the next day. When they began to relax ( with the exception of Kakashi and Entreri) they were attacked. Attacked by none other than Zabuza.

"Duck!" Kakashi yelled, and Team 7 hit the deck along with Tazuna. But Entreri had other plans. He had already sensed the disturbance in the wind and felt the attack before it even came. Entreri pulled out his dagger and began advancing towards Zabuza in a zig-zag pattern, and blurred out of existence. He reappeared behind Zabuza, who blocked the attack by moving his giant sword with surprising speed behind him. Entreri then sprang backwards and planned another attack.

Before Entreri could attack again, Kakashi stood up and began talking.

"Zabuza, Demon of the Hidden Mist. Prepare to meet your end." He then moved his hitai-ate(?) up and revealed his sharingan eye. Sasuke gasped again and furiously thought about multiple things all relating to Sharingan, how, and sensei.

Entreri stepped forward to resume attacking but was stopped by Kakashi's hand. Kakashi began attacking Zabuza only to end up trapped in Zabuza's water prison. Entreri, in the meantime, was thinking about where he had heard Zabuza's name before.

_Flashback_

_Entreri stood up and began talking to his apprentice, "Boy, there are things called silent killing techniques. But within that category, there are two types. The ninja version of the silent killing techniques, and the assassin version. What type are we?"_

_The 9 year old boy looked up, "We are assassins."_

"_Correct. In the ninja silent killing, there is a master of it. His name is Zabuza. At a young age, he slaughtered his entire genin class and was then called the Demon of the Mist. He would be a formidable opponent if you met him. Now, our type of silent killing, is much more dangerous, and like all our techniques, doesn't use chakra…"_

_End Flashback_

'Ah. Zabuza, master of the ninja silent killing techniques… I remember.'

When he came back to reality, he noticed two things. Kakashi was stuck in a water prison (looking very sheepish…) and that there was multiple water clones heading his way.

"Zabuza. Supposed master of all the ninja silent killing techniques. A worthy opponent, or so according to my master."

"Ah. So you've heard of me before, then I guess you know of my illustrious past. And now, may I ask, who are you?"

"My name, is Entreri." And with that, he melted into the shadows. Kakashi, with his sharingan uncovered, saw nothing. He furrowed his brow and concentrated harder, but could find no traces of chakra.

Then, a black mist appeared around the water clones and as soon as it came, it left. But in it's wake, it had completely destroyed all the clones. Still no chakra traces. Once again, the black mist came, and this time, at Zabuza. When the mist dissipated, Zabuza no longer held the water prison and was on the ground with deep gashes all over the vital points on his body. Kakashi was dumbfounded, how could such a powerful technique use no chakra at all? Who really was Entreri?

Sasuke, Sakura, and Kaoru were all in shock as to how someone their age was so much powerful than they. Sasuke was jealous of the power that Entreri possessed and vowed to beat the secret out of him.

Entreri was walking up to the prone form of Zabuza and was about to use the finishing blow when senbon came out of the trees and finished the job for him. Entreri noticed that the senbon had entered the fake death spots on Zabuza's neck, but decided to let it go. After all, he was slightly winded from using his techniques. The hunter-nin that had 'finished' Zabuza off looked to be about their age.

"Thank you for your help in bringing the missing-nin Zabuza down. I'm going to be taking his body back to Kirigakure." With a bow, the hunter-nin disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

………………………………………………………………….

Tazuna's House

Kakashi, after waking up from his chakra exhaustion (did I forget to mention that he passed out from it?) he turned to Entreri prepared to question him.

"Entreri, just who are you?"

Entreri, looking up from his food, "I am who I say I am. My name is Entreri."

Sasuke snorted, "Bullshit. Who are you?"

"Like I said before, my name is Entreri. Now if you would please stop pestering me, I would like to finish my food." Entreri began to concentrate on his food once more.

"Where did you get your power? Tell me."

Entreri looked up from his food again, and stared at Sasuke in the eye. The dead blank look that was coming from it scared Sasuke(although he would never admit it) and Sasuke resumed his eating in a meek manner.

Sakura on the other hand was in deep thought, 'Entreri…Entreri… where have I heard that before? Oh… no… it couldn't be, could it?'

"Are you Entreri, the disciple of Artemis Entreri?"

A flicker of recognition passed through Entreri's eyes and he nodded.

"Yes. I am his indirect disciple. 7th generation Entreri, master of all the assassination techniques and owner of the Entreri blade. I never lied about my identity."

Now it was Kakashi's turn to be amazed.

'So that's who he was… I see how he is so strong… but how strong could he possibly be?'

"Entreri, after dinner, I would like to test your skills."

Entreri, now weary from all the comments and questions directed at him, nodded, and once again, began eating. He went undisturbed until he finished his food. After all the dishes and things were put away, him and Kakashi went out.

"Now Entreri, this is only a test, no need to go all out."

A nod, and then a shuffling of feet as Entreri took his stance. Before Kakashi could react, a blade was pressed against his neck.

'Impossible, he's still standing right there…' And just as he thought that, the image of Entreri melted away.

"What you're seeing… is my afterimage." Kakashi's eyes widened.

'He's faster than Gai…'

"Was that a good enough test for you? If so, then I will take my leave." Entreri bowed and disappeared into a shadow.

…………………………………………………………..

That night…

_Dream / Flashback_

"_Boy, this technique, is called the black mist."_

_The teacher stepped back into a shadow and disappeared. The boy stood there bewildered, and wondering where his master had gone. He blinked. And when he opened his eyes, he was covered in what appeared to be literally, a black mist. The next moments were filled with the noises of cutting and tearing of cloth. Finally, when the mist faded, all that was left, was the lone child, standing there, with his clothes torn and two slice marks on each cheek._

"_That was, the black mist. It's a technique that utilizes our superior speed and dagger mastery. If you noticed, all the cuts on your clothes were precisely aimed above the vital veins, arteries, and organs. When you use it in a fight, it will kill. Try and block me this time."_

_The black mist came back and once again, the child was submitted to the attack. But every once in a while, the clanging of blades rang out. This continued, until finally, the boy dropped forward from exhaustion. The master reappeared from the black mist and crouched over the boy._

"_I would never say this while you were awake… but… you're a good kid."_

_The prone figure twitched, but stayed unconscious. The master gave a small smile, picked up the boy, and disappeared in a blur._

_Three years later-_

"_Boy, try it again."_

_The boy that was addressed took a deep breath, and stepped back into the shadows. Around the master, a black mist formed. Flashes of silver weaved in and out of the mist and blades continually rang out, finally, the sound of metal piercing a person's skin was heard. The mist dissipated and the boy was standing panting with exhaustion. _

"_You mastered it. Even top notch shinobi wouldn't be able to block half the attacks you did." And with that comment, the cloth on the master's cloak ripped in half, and a small trickle of blood ran down his back. The master smiled._

_End Dream / Flashback_

"Alright kids, time to wake up." Their sensei announced and woke the four children laying on the floor. Kaoru mumbled a few incoherent words and turned around, Sakura got up blinked, and went to use the bathroom, and Sasuke sat up, glared at his sensei for interrupting his sleep, and got up. Entreri on the other hand, was still sleeping.

Kaoru, finally roused from his sleep by his grey-haired teacher, was about to poke Entreri when he felt a slight rush of air, and the feeling of cold metal against his throat.

"Who sent you?" Entreri whispered.

1 Line paraphrased from a line in The Soulforge by Margaret Weis

……………………………………………………………………………………

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I just started school and I got hit by a test real early and I had trouble recovering. **

**Ummm… there's going to be constant flashbacks of Entreri's training so don't think that I just leave it all alone. (If you thought that I was just going to ignore his past… then… you're wrong!!) **

**Don't worry, Entreri isn't God. He's not all powerful. He's ownage, but remember, just because he beat Kakashi, doesn't mean he can beat everyone. If you read the manga, Kakashi really isn't all that high and mighty if you compare him to somebody like Itachi or something.**

**Also, I would like to take a poll. In the manga, there's that short bit about the Amekage. If you agree that he looks totally ownage, then tell me. I want to know if I'm all alone in my thoughts… or if people agree with me.**


	3. Chapter 3

Venia

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Forgotten Realms**

………………………………………………………………………………….

"_Who sent you?" Entreri whispered._

_Flashback-_

_A middle aged man was standing before a young boy and talking to him._

"_Boy, remember this. When people hear the name Entreri, they get either one of two feelings. One of awe and respect, but the other of greed and malice, the people that are filled with greed and lust after the dagger that we hold, they will try to kill you. So always stay on your guard, never lose vigilance. I will train you so that those are part of who you are. After we are finished, you will never be caught unawares."_

_That night the same boy was sleeping on his makeshift bed in the forest. He was slumbering peacefully until the silhouettes of two shinobi came into view. They were whispering amongst themselves._

"_He's only a child, we can kill him in his sleep."_

_The other nodded, and motioned for his accomplice to shut the boy's mouth while he slit the throat. Both agreed and they crept forward. The man put his hand on the child's mouth, when he felt a rush of air and saw his teammate's throat ripped out and gushing blood. He looked back to where the boy should've been, but there was nothing. His eyes widened, but felt the cold dagger pressed against his jugular. _

"_Don't move. Or you'll meet the same end your friend did over there." The man did as he was told, but the boy ignored his earlier comment and disappeared into a black mist. The shinobi, not knowing what was going on, relaxed and took a deep breath. _

_That breath turned out to be his last._

_From the shadows, another man was watching. He was the same middle aged man from earlier that day, and he looked impressed at the ruthlessness his student was showing._

'_I have taught you well. Never let down your guard, and always be vigilant.'_

_He then stepped back into the shadows and disappeared. _

_-End flashback_

When Entreri came to, he realized that he was holding his dagger to his teammate's throat and the smell of piss reeking from his teammate's crotch. He understood what had happened.

"I'm sorry for my actions. Please forgive me." Entreri got down on his knees and put his head on the floor.

Kaoru on the other hand smiled, and said, "Yeah… you really scared me there. No harm done… I guess you led quite a hard life. The only thing wrong here is my pants." He laughed and walked off to go change.

As Entreri got up, he was thinking about the tone of voice the boy had used earlier.

'That voice. It held something… pity? But why would he pity me?' His thoughts trailed off and he went off to go eat breakfast with Tazuna's family.

**(A/N: I'm not going to incorporate Inari into the story, I don't feel that he's much of an important character. Also, it doesn't suit my purpose to add him in… cause if I had to, then I'd have to go out of my way to write some meaningless piece about something.)**

……………………………………………………………………..

After breakfast was complete Kakashi made his students (without Entreri) do the chakra exercises. Entreri went into his own little special training regimen. The next few days passed in much the same fashion and finally Kakashi deemed them ready to go guard Tazuna at the bridge.

When they arrived it was covered in an eerie mist. Everybody knew what that meant.

"So… the Konoha team arrives… I was wondering when you all would show up." The voice rang out all around them.

Kakashi turned to his team, "Sakura, you guard Tazuna, I'll take on Zabuza, and Sasuke, Kaoru, and Entreri try to take on his accomplice."

All nodded their heads in agreement and went their separate ways. Haku appeared and led the three boys away. Sasuke, eager to test his new skills in a fight jumped right at Haku and received a handful of needles to his chest. This kept going on as Entreri, Kaoru, and Sasuke attempted to dodge the needles that were seemingly coming from every direction. Sasuke was on the verge of passing out from the pain of so many needles. Haku, Kaoru, and Entreri all noticed this.

Jumping from a mirror, Haku threw another handful of needles in Sasuke's direction. They struck true, and pierced his vital points. Kaoru's vital points. The boy had thrown himself in front of Sasuke to try to block them, but he had moved too far to the left, and the needles that would've just made him go into fake death, actually killed him.

Kaoru, his eyes wide open in shock, stared at his surroundings as he dropped to his knees. Everything seemed to blur, and he saw Sasuke standing there, scared, sad and a massive mixture of emotions. Entreri stood there, passive. He looked past the mirrors to see Sakura's pink hair bobbing about in the mist. He heard the sound of a thousand chirping birds. Finally, with a last gasp of air, he slumped forward onto his hands, then, with a shudder, dropped, and fell still. Dead.

Sasuke, seeing his teammate fall over into death, fainted in horror. Entreri, being witness to death many times, seemed indifferent. But on the inside, inside his soul, a body, without the help of Entreri, pulled itself out of the deep grave. It was labeled 'Anger'. With it, another came up, and this one was called, 'Grief'.

Back on the outside, Entreri, now subject to these foreign emotions, burst into action. Fueled by his anger and grief and remembering all the times he and Kaoru had sat together, him listening, and Kaoru prattling on about this and that. He remembered Kaoru as his first "friend" and close companion, and he realized that he would never see that boy all happy and jumpy ever again. He steeled himself, and fought with renewed vigor. Bounding from mirror to mirror, he turned himself into the black mist. Haku, who had made the mistake of stepping out of a mirror a second too soon, was trapped inside the deadly attack.

Haku felt the dagger rip through his mask and pierce his face, he felt the sliding through the cloth of his clothes and tear through his innards. And finally he felt his heart getting cut out and ripped out. He saw through bloody red eyes, his own beating heart being held in front of his face. Then he saw no more.

His bloodlust gone, his anger dissipating, and his grief expressing itself through tears sliding down his face, he dropped the body and the crushed heart of Haku. He saw his enemy's body flop to the ground with blood pooling beneath it. Entreri turned and faced his comrade's unmoving body on the ground and kneeled over it.

'Kaoru. My friend. I'm sorry I couldn't have known you better.' He didn't know the words to say, but he felt the pain inside as the knowledge that his friend had died slowly sunk in. After a moment of silence, he dried his face, wiped off any evidence of tears, and went to report to Kakashi.

…………………………………………………………………………………….

Mission: Guard bridge builder Tazuna as he journeys to Wave Country.

Rank: C (the 'C' had been crossed out and replaced with a 'B' then replaced by an 'A')

Team: Genin Team 7

Jounin Sensei- Hatake Kakashi

Genin- Uchiha Sasuke

Haruno Sakura

Hitachiin Kaoru (**deceased- read mission report**)

Other- Entreri

Report: All went well for first day. Second day were attacked by the 'Demon Brothers', dispatched by Entreri (**see Hatake-san for details**). Turned out that Tazuna-san is being hunted by the businessman Gatou, mission changed to B-rank. Two days went by uneventfully. Next day was attacked by 'Demon of the Hidden Mist' Momochi Zabuza, A-Ranked missing nin (**see bingo book for more information**). Fought a short skirmish with Entreri, then Hatake-san took over.

Hatake-san was incapacitated by the Water Prison Technique. Entreri used some sort of assassination killing technique, and almost killed Zabuza. Zabuza was saved by an accomplice dressed as a Mist Hunter-nin, named Haku. Stayed at Tazuna-san's house for next week and taught students about chakra control. Went to the bridge where we met Zabuza again. Kaoru, Sasuke, and Entreri fought Haku, and Hatake-san fought with Zabuza.

During fight, Kaoru took a hit for Sasuke and passed away due to the attack. Sasuke lost consciousness soon after. Entreri killed Haku. Hatake-san finished Zabuza. When the battle was finished, Gatou showed up with an army of thugs. Entreri killed all the thugs and Gatou (see Hatake-san for details).

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The Hokage sighed, and read the last paragraph again.

'Kaoru, you were such a promising ninja. A little ball of happiness and joy. I'll miss your pranks and the Sexy no Jutsu.' A tear fell down the Hokage's leathery face.

A knock on his door interrupted his privacy and he called the man in. The man was Hatake Kakashi, jounin sensei of Team 7.

"Hokage-sama, I'm here to talk to you about our mission."

"Proceed." The Hokage rubbed his forehead and pulled out a small shot glass filled with sake. 'I'm really going to need this…'

"Well, as you have read in the mission report, Entreri showed extreme skill during all of his fights, he almost killed Zabuza, unscathed I might add, and killed Haku. After that, he killed over a 100 thugs. It was a bloodbath. It seems that he was affected by Kaoru's passing. They had created somewhat of a friendly relationship, and I guess it meant a lot to Entreri."

"Ah." The Hokage drained the shot glass, and filled it back up. "So how is Entreri doing now?"

"He's become reclusive, and no longer talks, and has reverted to what he was like before."

A sigh.

"When's Kaoru's funeral going to be? Have you contacted the parents, and friends?"

Kakashi nodded, "It's going to be in a week. Yamato (what's his real name? I forgot --) is using his mokuton and building a coffin. I have contacted the family and friends, the responses were the expected ones. Tears shed, and lots of reminiscing. I have to say, I'll miss the little prankster as well. He led us on quite the chase in my ANBU days…"

Both of the men stared off remembering the brown haired prankster's younger days, they faintly smiled.

'… if only I had taken care of him more… that's another teammate I've lost…'

"Kakashi. Don't be too hard on yourself. Give yourself and your team a break, to recover."

Kakashi nodded, bowed, and poofed away.

…………………………………………………………………………….

Entreri's crib (I've always wanted to say that )

'I guess… some humans are worth knowing. I… wish… I could go back and save him…'

And in a fit of rage he ran away. Ran the distance to Training Field 7. He stood in the middle of the field, and stared at the wide open expanses. He let out a deep breath, walked to a training log, and began punching it.

He stripped off his metal plated hand guards, arm guards and keep punching at the log. He punched until his left hand began to bleed, and the white bone began showing. But as soon as it ripped apart, it healed in a red haze. His metallic right arm left giant dents inside of the log, until finally, with a last push of strength; he thrust forward his arm and blew apart the log. The splinters flew all across the field.

Entreri stood there panting, hands on his knees. Took a deep breath, and breathed it out. Calmed.

'Anger…an emotion that I have no use for.' He reached into the depths of his soul, and crushed it, buried it, and rid himself of the destructive feeling.

He was brought back to reality by the voice of an ANBU member.

"Entreri-san, the Hokage requests your presence."

Entreri nodded his head in acknowledgement and the ANBU member poofed away. Entreri took a last look at his surroundings, stepped into a shadow, and moved towards the Hokage Tower. After getting past the secretary, he stepped into the office of the Fire Shadow.

"Ah. Entreri, you've arrived. Have a seat." The wizened old man gestured to a chair across from his desk. Entreri sat, and lifted his empty orbs to the eyes of the Hokage. Once again, the Hokage involuntarily shivered at the look the young boy gave.

'He's one helluva kid…'

"I would like to ask you to join Konoha's Ninja forces. More specifically, Team 7. You will replace Kaoru's spot in the team. Do you accept?"

Entreri continued staring at the wrinkled man, contemplating the offer.

'Should I? Would joining these people help me complete my master's last mission? I…I…don't know…'

His face clearly showed confusion. Finally, making a decision, he replied.

"I'll take it. I would also like to be with Team 7 to replace their lost member."

"Agreed." And with a handshake, loads of paperwork, and a Konoha hitai-ate, Entreri was now instated as a Konoha Ninja.

……………………………………………………………………..

_That Night…_

Entreri lay on his bed thinking.

'Master, is this what you would've wanted from me? Is this completing my mission? However you feel, this is the path that I've chosen. I hope you are pleased.'

As the sun rose the next morning, Entreri walked out his door and went on his way to the bridge. When he arrived, he met up with the rest of Team 7 and the circled around to have a discussion.

"Entreri, Sakura, Sasuke. Due to the mission that we just finished, I have been given orders to let you three rest for a week to recover from any wounds you might've received." Kakashi then thought, 'Whether the wounds are on the outside, or on the inside, I hope you recover soon.'

"Well, I guess I'll be off then." Kakashi eye-smiled and then disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Sasuke looked over at Entreri and narrowed his eyes. 'Kakashi-sensei told me about how Entreri slaughtered that Mist-nin and those bandits… how did he get that strong? … I'll get Kakashi-sensei to train me.'

He raced off into the direction that Kakashi went to and left Sakura and Entreri standing there.

Sakura looked off into the distance, thinking about that loudmouth Kaoru. Heaving a sigh, she turned and walked off into the direction of her house. Entreri just stood there. Looking into the water, he was immersed in his own thought. Suddenly, a spasm shook him, and he slumped forward unconscious and fell into the water.

……………………………………………………………………………..

Hospital

Kakashi raced through the hallways and ran into room 107 to find Entreri sleeping on the hospital bed. The boy's vital signs were fine and the Hokage was standing right next to him with a sad expression on his face.

"What happened to him? Was he attacked?"

The Hokage lifted shook his head and responded, "He's not been hurt in any way. Unless you count the giant scar that's been created on his mind. If you're wondering, he's not fatigued in body, but in his soul. Kaoru's death must've affected him more than any of us thought."

Kakashi nodded his head gravely and asked the Hokage to put Team 7 on the injured reserved list. The Hokage gave permission, and Kakashi left.

A month went by, with Kakashi training Sasuke and Sakura. Entreri still was sleeping in the hospital. He was being fed through tubes, and the team went to visit him everyday.

Another month went by, and Entreri showed no signs of life. But finally, one day, he opened his eyes.

'Where… am I?'

The nurses found him in a conscious state and called the Hokage in.

"He's awake sir. But he's not responding to any of our questions."

"It's alright, as long as he's awake, it's fine. You did a good job."

Entreri just lay there staring at the ceiling. When he heard the door open, he turned his head and looked at the newcomer.

'I remember him… he was called… the Hokage…'

Entreri saw the man place his hand on Entreri's forehead and mumble a few words. A bright flash of light and Entreri lay there once more, staring at the ceiling.

'Did it work? I believe his memory should come back now.'

Days passed and Entreri fell back into a comatose state. But after 5 days of waiting, the boy sat up. Looked around and saw the Hokage sitting in a chair right next to him.

"Hokage-sama, why am I in the hospital?"

The Hokage just smiled and replied, "You can leave now if you want. You've been in a coma for about 2 and a half months."

Entreri's eyes opened in shock and he got up out of his bed, bowed and went home.

At his house, he found his equipment just as he remembered it, put it on, and went to training field 7.

Once there, he saw Kakashi training Sasuke and Sakura. He approached them.

"Hello Kakashi-sensei, Sakura, Sasuke. I'm sorry I was absent for so long."

Sakura smiled and said, "No problem, it gave us some time to try to catch up to you."

Sasuke smirked, "I bet I've already caught up to you. Kakashi sensei trained me, and now I can beat you."

Entreri cocked his head to one side and flatly replied, "That's impossible. Our power gap is something you couldn't have covered in 100 years, much less 2 and a half months."

Sakura smacked her head at Entreri's stupidity, while Sasuke on the other hand was seething in anger.

"Entreri fight me right now." This was when Kakashi stepped in.

"Now now Sasuke, don't get too riled up. Entreri just got out of the hospital." The gray haired man was rubbing the back of his head.

"I feel quite all right sensei. I think it would be good warm up to spar with Sasuke."

Kakashi sighed in resignation, 'Whatever… stopping Sasuke is like trying to stop an army of cloud nins…'

Both boys got into their separate stances.

'I'll use the first dance. Just to test Sasuke.'

'Tch… he can't keep up with my speed. And I can use 'that'.'

In a blur Sasuke rushed at Entreri. Entreri on the other hand stood calmly, dagger in his right hand and sheath in his left.

_Flashback_

_A man stood in front of a boy, and was talking to him, "Boy, I'm going to teach you the first dance of the dagger. This is a very basic, but very deadly way of fighting. It relies on precision attacks. Each movement you make forces your opponent into a position that has already been planned out by you. But remember, even if you are 1mm off of your mark, your plan goes crashing down. Come!" _

_The man sprang at the boy and began attacking with a dagger, the boy could do nothing but defend. Each and every attack by the man forced the boy into another spot where the man's dagger would nick him and score another cut. Metal on metal rang out through the entire training grounds. When it stopped, the boy stood in the middle, cut, bruised, and panting heavily. _

"_You did better than I thought you would. But it's still not enough. There are many strong opponents in the world, and you must be able to defeat them all."_

_Once again the sound of blades clashing filled the air and it went on for a few minutes longer than the first. And when the sound stopped, the same scene was shown._

"_Good. Let's keep this up all day."_

_End Flashback_

'Precision attacks.'

When Sasuke was just about to close in on Entreri, Entreri sidestepped and stabbed at Sasuke's exposed stomach. 1 cut. Sasuke growled and raised his speed, it seemed that Entreri and Sasuke were on par now. Each stab, lunge, and attack made by Entreri was blocked by Sasuke's feet, kunai, hands, and arms. Sakura was amazed at how much Sasuke had grown.

'This is very unlike Entreri… he must be holding back…' Kakashi shook his head.

Entreri kicked up his speed one notch to just stay above Sasuke, and Sasuke rose to meet him. Each one blurring in and out of existence, the loud clash of blades in the air brought many observers from the other training grounds. All were in awe at the two teenage boys who were having a close to jounin level fight. But the more experienced ones knew that Entreri was not even at 20 of his strength and that Sasuke was close to his limit.

In the air, Sasuke realized this as well. 'Shit… I'm losing energy, and fast… I guess I'll use 'that'.'

"Sharingan!"

The trademark red eyes and two tomoes of the Uchiha appeared on Sasuke's face. Everyone on the field gasped in awe.

'The Uchiha trump card… let's see how it fares against me…'

Sasuke smirked, "Entreri, this one's mine. I can read all of your movements, I can see all that you're going to do. You stand no chance against an Uchiha."

Entreri replied, "We'll see about that…"

'The first few Entreri's dealt with the Sharingan before, and have made techniques to defend against it. Our style will not be stolen by some copycats. We are not that easy to defeat.'

Entreri raised his speed to 50 of his full power, and disappeared. Sasuke saw the movement, but couldn't react.

"Reading the future is useless if you can't do anything about it. In fact, it might actually be your downfall; you know you're going to lose, and to know it a few seconds beforehand doesn't help any."

Sasuke's eyes opened in shock and he growled, "Nobody beats the Uchiha!"

He then flipped through handseals and yelled, "Chidori!"

Right hand blazing with the bright blue orb, he rushed Entreri. Entreri had no time to dodge. So he brought up his right arm to defend against it.

The sound of metal being melted and destroyed filled the training grounds and all the observers were looking up in shock, anger, and awe at the last Uchiha.

'He destroyed Entreri's right arm! He'll never be a shinobi now!' The collective thoughts of many of the observers.

Entreri on the other hand, was standing there staring at the stump of what used to be his right metallic arm. He raised his eyes to Sasuke and shook his head, "How disappointing. This is all the chidori can do?"

Sasuke was standing there laughing, "That's what you say? Your arm was destroyed! AHAHAHAHA!!! I showed you… tch… you weren't that great."

Meanwhile, Kakashi's eye was blazing with fury, "Sasuke… how dare you use that technique against a fellow leaf shinobi! I'll have you hanged for treason."

"It's alright Kakashi-sensei." All the people's eyes turned to the speaker of the words. Entreri. "My arm can take a lot more than that and live."

In front of all of them, his metallic arm began regrowing, the nerves reforming, and the wiring suddenly reconnecting themselves.

"It's called, I think, a mechanical arm… the original Entreri created it with some remnant of power he had from some other world. Psionics I think… doesn't exist anymore over here though. Except for my arm of course. Now," he turned to Sasuke, "where were we?"

He blurred out of existence once more and thrust his right hand into Sasuke's stomach. The Uchiha plummeted towards the ground and blood was spilling out of his body and into the air. Entreri slowly descended, reached the ground, dusted off his clothes, and walked away.

'I lost. Again. To Entreri… I'll get him… I'll get more power… and then I'll get Itachi…' With those closing thoughts, Sasuke's eyes closed and he drifted into unconsciousness.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

2 Years Later

"Hokage-sama, Team 7 reporting for duty."

One jounin and two chuunin stood in front of the Hokage's desk. The lead jounin reached out and took a mission packet.

"We'll take this one." The two other members of the team had already left, but the third stayed behind.

"Entreri… there's something that's going to happen in this year's chuunin exam. I want you to be on your guard."

"I understand." A bow, and then he left. Outside, the two chuunin were waiting for him.

"What did Hokage-sama want?"

"He wants us to prepare for some action in this year's chuunin exam. He expects something bad to happen."

The black haired chuunin spoke up, "Nothing that I can't handle. Tch…"

"Whatever it is, our first priority is to complete our mission."

The girl took the mission packet, opened it and began reading out loud,

"Location: Rice Country

Explanation: Disturbances within the country, enemy shinobi are suspected. Most likely the newly formed Sound Nin.

Objective: Clear area of any hostiles

Mission rank: A

Known Enemies within Area: Orochimaru"

"Alright, Sakura, Sasuke, Orochimaru is one of the Sannin, if he approaches one of you guys, report it to me over the radio," He wiggled the thing in his ear ,"got it? I'll handle him."

"I don't need your help…" Sasuke stood up but was roughly pushed back down.

"Chuunin. I gave you an order, you follow my orders. When you become a jounin, you might not have to listen to me anymore, but right now, I outrank you."

Sasuke sent Entreri a cold glare, but was met with the dead eyes of Entreri. Giving in, he nodded his head in acknowledgement of his leader.

"Let's move out."

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Somewhere in Rice Country

"This is Fox, Raven you in position?"

"Raven is in position. Cherry Blossom, ready?"

"Yes."

Sasuke was located on the right side of the base spying from up in a tree. Entreri was in the middle and Sakura was between the two ready to provide support.

'They are Sound Nins, just like the file suggested…' Entreri was deep in thought.

"My my… what do we have here?" Entreri spun around to meet the new voice. His eyes opened in shock.

Before him stood Orochimaru.

**A/N: Hello Peoples of Fanfiction!! I'm sorry I didn't update soon… School is hard… very hard… Well anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter… and the next chapter won't be coming out that soon either, so… don't get ur hopes up. **

**-Joe**


	4. Chapter 4

Venia

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Forgotten Realms or anything else I might inadvertently add along the way.**

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_Before him stood Orochimaru._

"Sasuke, Sakura, enemy contact, in need of assistance." He whispered into his earphone.

Orochimaru looked amused. "Sasuke and Sakura? Your teammates?" He smiled.

Entreri rose from his position on the ground as his team arrived.

"What a pleasant surprise… I never expected to see you two here."

Sasuke responded, "We were surprised as well Orochimaru-sama."

'Sama?' Revelation fell upon him like a ton of bricks. Sasuke had been acting a bit weird after his chuunin exam. 'I need evidence before I can kill them.'

"Sasuke, since when did you side with Orochimaru?"

The raven haired chuunin turned and said, "Since the chuunin exams. Let me tell you what happened."

_Flashback_

_Sasuke, Sakura, and their third teammate raced through the Forest of Death with their two scrolls clutched in their hands. About a mile away from the tower they were met with an extremely strong killing intent. All three of them fell to the ground gasping from it's effect. _

"_Sasuke-kun." A strangely reptilian voice called from the treetops. _

_Sasuke, pushing his body to it's limit, raised his head to face the menace. Then, he whipped out a kunai and stabbed himself in the thigh. Grimacing from the pain, he was finally released from the killing intent._

"_Oh… brave are we?" The voice echoed down from the heights. Then the voice materialized into what all three of them recognized as the Snake Sannin, Orochimaru._

"_What do you want… traitor?" Orochimaru flinched when he heard the title bestowed onto him._

"_Brave and a bit feisty as well." He smiled._

_Sasuke, growling with anger, turned to his teammates, "Sakura, Matsuda, run."_

_Orochimaru's smile grew even bigger, "You have grown into quite the character Sasuke-kun…"_

_He watched Sasuke's teammate Matsuda begin to run, and looked for the second team member, but she was nowhere to be found. He turned back to Sasuke and saw her behind him, as if trying to back him up._

'_She could be quite useful as well.' He thought._

"_Well, let's get down to business shall we? I came here, risking my life if I may add, to give you an offer. I can give you immeasurable power, power to defeat that pesky Entreri, and your brother as well."_

"_Power comes with a price, what's yours?" Sasuke whispered. The anger faded from his face, now replaced with intrigue, curiosity, and suspicion._

"_A smart one too… All the better." Orochimaru mumbled to himself. Speaking louder he began, "The price for this, is your loyalty to your village, loyalty to your friends, and your loyalty to your team."_

"_I don't care for this village, I don't care for friends, and I care nothing for my team." His face flushed with anger._

"_Good. Then I will give you a little present. It's to give you a little taste of the power to come." Orochimaru's neck began to elongate and he reached over and bit Sasuke on the neck._

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Sasuke screamed in pain. Sakura rushed to catch him. She glared at Orochimaru and yelled, _

"_What did you do to him?!"_

"_Exactly what I told him I would. I gave him a little bit of the power he will receive." Orochimaru smiled once more, and melted into the ground._

_Sakura was about to pursue, but her crush's groan of pain brought her back to him._

'_Sasuke-kun, please be alright…'_

_The Next Day…_

_Sasuke groaned and sat up. He was in a cave, and he had the biggest headache he'd had in years. Feeling groggy he stood up and shook his head. A piercing scream came from outside of the cave, 'Sakura…'_

_He rushed outside to be greeted by the scene of Sakura getting beat up by three sound nin. His anger flamed around him, clouding his judgement. He ignored the fact that he was still weak from that mysterious bite given to him by the snake sannin. 'Oh yes, the bite… he said it was a present.'_

_Ignoring the thought, he pulled up as much chakra as he could muster, and was met with the feeling of ecstasy. Looking down at his hand, he noticed black flame markings crawling around on his arms and the left side of his body._

'_This must be the power that Orochimaru…-sama… talked about.' He wondered about his use of sama at the end of Orochimaru's name, but passed it off as nothing important._

"_Which one of you hurt you Sakura?"  
_

_Sakura looked at Sasuke in shock, and noticed the purple chakra flaring off of the last Uchiha. She instantly realized that this power was evil, and every sense in her body told her to run away from this demon that once was her crush._

"_Sasuke-kun…" But Sasuke didn't listen to her and began systematically cutting down the sound nins. His first victim was the girl. Rushing forward he put his hand into a shovel shape and stabbed it clear through her heart._

'_My first kill…' Pushing the conflicting emotions away, he continued his killing spree. Next death was Zaku, the boy with wind pipes in his arms. _

"_Kin was weak, but I'm on a whole different level. Zankuuha!" The blast of wind blew Sasuke away. Would've blown Sasuke away if he hadn't been right behind him. Grabbing both Zaku's arms he placed his foot on Zaku's back and pulled the arms. The sound of the muscles, ligaments ripping was too much for Sakura to bear. She slumped over into unconsciousness. Finally, with a great pull, Sasuke managed to rip off Zaku's precious arms. The boy stood there looking at the stumps that once held his arms. _

_With a shuddering cry, he screamed in pain. Sasuke happily put the boy out of his misery. He last turned his gaze towards the bandaged boy. Rushing forward in a blur of purple chakra, the last Uchiha was about to plunge his hand straight through the chest of the last sound nin, but was met with a high pitched screeching sound that cause him to bleed from his nose, ears, and cough up blood. _

"_I can't believe Orochimaru-sama chose a weakling like you to train. I defeated you in one blow. Pitiful." Pulling out a kunai, the sound nin was on the verge of ending Sasuke's life, but was met with a kick in the back. Flying forwards and landing at the base of a tree, the sound nin turned to face his new attacker. But when he looked upon the face of his assailant, he knew that the man wasn't a new attacker. It turned out to be Sasuke._

"_Weakling? You dare call me, the last Uchiha, a weakling? You've got to be kidding me!! HAAHAHAHAH!" Sasuke laughed to the heavens. Finally, finished with his rant, he charged at Dosu. Blurring in and out of Dosu's vision, he soon reached the boy with little resistance. He finished off Dosu with a foot to the throat. Before the sound nin reached his final resting place on the ground, Sasuke's purple aura disappeared. _

'_This is true power. Orochimaru-sama, I will go with you.' Sasuke smiled. He then dragged Sakura's limp body to the cave and waited for her to regain consciousness. When she came to, she was in a slight daze, but the sight of Sasuke, now normal, brought her back to reality._

"_Sasuke-kun… you're back."_

"_I was never gone Sakura. What you saw back there was Orochimaru's power, the power that I can use to beat Entreri, and even my brother."_

_Sakura grew angry, "Sasuke! You idiot, that power is evil, that man is probably going to use you! Can't you see? That power isn't real power, it will corrupt you, you'll turn out exactly like Orochimaru." Sasuke turned from her._

"_I thought that you'd be the one to understand Sakura. My vengeance against my brother is stronger than my desire to live a normal life. I don't care what happens to me, as long as Itachi is dead, whatever happens, happens. If that is the price I must pay, then so be it."_

"_Sasuke! I love you. you know that… I would go with you anywhere! But please, listen to me! That chakra I felt back there. It's corrosive. You'll get taken over by it before you kill your brother."_

_Sasuke looked thoughtful. "Would you really Sakura? Would you really follow me into the darkness? I believe you. The power will corrupt me. But it will kill my brother as well. And maybe, if you were there, you could help me."_

_Hope flared in Sakura's eyes. "Yes, I would follow you into the darkness. If you go, then I don't know what I would do. Take me with you then. I'll change you to the righteous path. I'll fix you. That Orochimaru has twisted you."_

_Sasuke smiled, a faint smile, as if glad that a dog had done a trick properly. "If you come, then maybe I will listen, maybe I will change. Yes. Follow me where no living being will ever dare to go. Follow me into the darkness of my heart, follow me into my soul and if you love me as much as you say, try your hardest to heal me."_

_Sakura, her face now stained with tears, looked up at Sasuke and smiled back. _

"_I must kill Matsuda. He knows too much." And with that, they found Matsuda, and finished the 2__nd__ stage of the chuunin exams._

_The Next Day…_

"_Uchiha Sasuke versus Yoneyama Matsuda."_

_Matsuda, eyes wide at the thought of having to fight his teammate, the last Uchiha, walked shakily down the steps to the arena where Uchiha Sasuke stood. _

"_Begin!"_

_The match was over as soon as it began. Sasuke rushed forward __**(A/N: He does that a lot doesn't he…)**__ and slit Matsuda's throat with his kunai. The audience was shocked at the show of ruthlessness. Kakashi, their sensei, was shocked even more than the rest of the crowd._

'_Since when did he learn how to kill?'_

_Shaking his head, he walked out of the arena._

_In the end, Sakura and Sasuke became chuunins._

_End Flashback_

"Sasuke, I thought you were above that… but I guess I was wrong." Entreri turned to Sasuke. "This means I have to kill all of you."

Heaving a sigh, he went to work. Disappearing into the black mist, he attacked Orochimaru. Orochimaru, never seeing this move before was held enthralled just as the mist surrounded him. He felt pain as he had never felt it before and when the mist dissipated, he was on his knees clutching his wounds. Luckily, none of them were fatal.

As if reading Orochimaru's thoughts, Entreri stated, "Even one cut from this knife is fatal. Goodbye." He began sucking the life force out of Orochimaru. Orochimaru felt this as well.

"I will not die here!" Searching within himself, he dragged up the soul of his body's original owner, and thrust it out towards the green light. The green gem, finding this acceptable, released it's hold on Orochimaru's soul, and took the new one. Entreri was shocked.

'My knife took a wrong soul… who is this Orochimaru?' Sounds of the conflict had reached the base he had been spying on earlier, and Entreri found that he was surrounded.

'There is no way I can win this battle.' Leaping off into the canopy of the forest, he made quick his escape. Running as fast as he could, he ran till he lost all sense of direction and till he lost consciousness.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Konoha Hospital

Eyes opened to the glaring hospital lights. Eyes closed. A breath released. Eyes open again. Adjust to light. Sigh.

"The patient has regained consciousness. Tell Hokage-sama! Hurry!"

'So loud… I wish they would quiet down…' Another sigh.

The old Hokage walked into the room and sat down.

"Entreri, you've woken I see."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Entreri took a stock of his surroundings as the events of the day flooded through his mind.

"I've gathered that Sasuke and Sakura have betrayed us and joined Orochimaru, the snake sannin."

Sandaime nodded his head and replied, "Yes, we've heard. Entreri… or should we say, Uzumaki Naruto."

Entreri, at hearing this name opened his eyes wide. 'So he knew…'

As if reading Entreri's thoughts, the Hokage began, "We found you near our borders half conscious and rambling on about Orochimaru and Sasuke's betrayal. You then passed out and we brought you in to the hospital. Originally, you were listed as a John Doe, so then we took a blood sample and fed it into the system." The Hokage looked off into the distance. "The machine read that you were Uzumaki Naruto."

Entreri lay there as the information sank into him. "Please, Hokage-sama, don't call me by that name. It brings back memories that are best left buried within. Uzumaki Naruto is who I was. I have cast off that old skin, that old personality and grew into who I am today. I am Entreri. Uzumaki Naruto was a stupid, ignorant little boy that led a carefree life. Entreri is a name that is feared in all the shinobi nations. I'm a different person than I was those many years ago."

The Hokage smiled, 'Yes… he's right. If I think of Naruto, I remember a happy-go-lucky little boy. But when I see this man… he's just a serious, cold, killing machine.'

"Alright, Entreri, I understand." The Hokage once again looked off into the distance and remembered the days spent with the blonde bundle of energy.

The next few hours passed in silence as the Sandaime sat reminiscing, and with Entreri falling back asleep.

_Dream_

_Entreri was floating in the air watching a scene that was occurring beneath him. A man clouded in shadows was sitting on a throne made of the most radiant gold as he ruled nations and controlled worlds. People addressed him as royalty, and the man responded as such. _

_As Entreri watched he realized that the man sitting on the throne was regarded as a god and worshipped as one. He saw nations rise and fall with the twitch of his hand. He saw armies on the move with the movement of his mouth. This man was the most powerful being in the world. When problems occurred, this god would move to make sure it was fixed. If there was a defeat in battle, the god arrived at the location, rallied the troops, and took the ground from the enemy. All of the god's subordinates respected the man, revered the man, and loved him. _

'_The perfect general. He will surely rule the world as a god as he rules this land as a god. If this exists, I would like to meet him someday. Under this man I would serve gladly.'_

_Entreri moved closer towards the man to look upon this magnificent person's face. As he neared, the man seemed to sense Entreri and lifted his head to face this new arrival. The god-man pulled back his hood, and Entreri gasped._

_The face was his own._

_End Dream_

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"Hokage-sama, I would like to ask a favor of you."

"Yes? What is it?" The Hokage looked up from his stack of paperwork.

The speaker answered, "Please, give me command of Konoha's forces."

In shock, the Hokage was speechless. To give the command of the most elite fighting force in the world to a 15 year old was preposterous!

"Why do you want control of the army?" The Hokage asked, curious to know the reasoning behind this.

"I have had a dream. In that dream, I saw myself standing before nations, victorious, gloried, and honored as a god. I looked at what might happen in the future, and I want to grab it, and take hold of it for myself." Entreri began to speak feverishly, "I want to become a god."

"Entreri, clearly you aren't thinking correctly. You're still injured, get some rest…" 'And try to recover from whatever mad fantasy you are stuck in…' He added silently.

"Injured? No… I am not injured, I am better than I have ever felt before. I see things as I have never seen them before. I see armies moving with my every movement, when I rise enemies fall, people cower before my holiness and power. And I want it more than anything." The dagger master kept speaking, "You know for yourself that I am more than capable to control this, you know that I can pull this off."

"Why should we attack now? I know of your strengths," 'And your weaknesses' The old man thought, "but all of the nations are at peace now, no wars, no conflicts, why break it?"

"Peace!" Scoffed Entreri, "Peace is a denial of reality, you yourself should know it due to your past. There is no peace in this land and there never will be as long as there are people with power. There are people with power, and they are willing to use it to further their own means. I am one of them, and I am determined to stop those who oppose me."

The Hokage nodded, understanding. 'This boy, he speaks with such passion… and speaks with the truth, he knows his facts. And I know them too to understand what he says. Should I give him a chance? Minato… what should I do with your son? He has turned out so differently than what you and I have imagined.'

"I will give you a small ANBU unit to test your ability to lead, and attack. You will attack only missing nins, and cause no quarrels with any other country. Do you understand?"

A glint appeared in Entreri's eyes. "Crystal clear sir."

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

ANBU HQ

"Team 23, meet your new squad captain. He will be your temporary substitute captain in charge of you until someone can replace your old captain."

The 15 man squad turned to face their substitute officer and was met with a boy in a fox mask.

"Hello team. Since I am only temporary, I don't feel the need for introductions aside from my own. My name is Entreri, pleased to meet you. On squad channels address me as Captain. We have a mission, the targets are Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura. The Uchiha is an A-class missing nin, and Haruno is a C-class missing nin. They are known to be in the general proximity of the snake sannin Orochimaru." Entreri's orders were curt and to the mark.

They left Konoha the next day.

Each member was supplied with a mission packet, a bag of soldier pills, one chakra scroll, and whatever equipment they opted to take. Entreri was dressed in his black cloak and with black ninja clothes underneath. His dagger safely tucked away underneath his cloak and a sword hooked on the other side of his body. The ANBU team went closer and closer to Sound as every day passed, and one person watched them the entire trip. And that one person was watching Entreri very closely.

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Sound Base

Red eyes watched the seeing bowl intently, three tomoes on each eye carefully noting each movement the dagger master took and committing it to memory.

'Entreri… it's been too long. I've been waiting to fight you for quite a while. You had better provide a good show.'

The figure turned away from the bowl and canceled his jutsu and walked to his personal training room where another man stood waiting.

"Orochimaru-sama, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." The man bowed.

"Oh, it's quite alright Takeshi. Now, shall we begin our training session?"

"I'm ready." And as soon as the last syllable left the man's mouth, Orochimaru sprang into action. In Orochimaru's hands was a dagger and a sword, the favored weapon style of Entreri.

Orochimaru came in with a cunning dagger thrust below Takeshi's guard that would have skewered most normal ninja, but with an equally fast and fluid movement, Takeshi pulled out a kunai and blocked the attack. During that motion, Orochimaru had taken his sword and swung it diagonally through the air at Takeshi's head. Reaching behind himself, Takeshi drew out a slender long sword and prevented Orochimaru's attack from striking.

By then Orochimaru was already on the move and crouched low, swinging his dagger at the other man's ankles, forcing Takeshi to jump back or risk getting his feet cut off. Now, off balance, Takeshi was in a bind. Orochimaru's sword was fast in coming up for the kill, too fast to stop the blow, and thus the perfect counterattack for Takeshi. The snake sannin, seeing the feint for what it was too close to the end attempted to pull back his sword so he could enter a defensive stance, but to no avail. Takeshi's sword caught Orochimaru's by the tip and flipped it away, leaving the sannin's chest wide open for an attack. And with a flick of the wrist, a kunai was headed right for Orochimaru's heart.

Orochimaru shifted to the side and took the blow as it glanced off of his shoulder. Grimacing in pain, he gritted his teeth and went back on the offensive. Moving in a swift attack pattern, Takeshi could do nothing but retreat and attempt to parry and block all of Orochimaru's attacks, all the while thinking up a counterattack that would bring the momentum back to his side. Takeshi finally scooted over and took a stab in his side and grabbed Orochimaru's arm all the while bringing in his other arm to go for the kill. Seeing Takeshi's intent in grabbing his hand, Orochimaru kicked up a few pebbles and dirt into the eyes of his opponent. Momentarily blinded, Takeshi fought purely on instinct. A small sound to the left, parry, a quick step to the right, thrust, recover, block, and spin. To an outsider, the deadly dances being played out in the room would have left them dazzled, but on the inside, both men were sweating and panting for breath as the battle went on for an hour, then two, and finally, in the third hour of fierce battle, Takeshi broke the cycle by kicking a pebble underneath the area where Orochimaru was going to step.

Sensing the disturbance beneath his foot, the sannin quickly retreated, but his balance was slightly off because of the unexpected turn of events. The split second of time it took for the snake master to right himself, was all it took for Takeshi to trap Orochimaru within his sharingan eye. Conceding, the sannin smiled and patted Takeshi on the shoulder.

"That was an excellent fight, but remember, I was almost killed by that boy in one attack. By all rights, I should be dead if not for the dead man I'm residing in at the moment."

Takeshi smiled and reassured Orochimaru that he was better than Entreri, and even if he wasn't, he had a little trick up his sleeve to insure that Entreri wouldn't leave the battlefield as one whole person. After saying that, Takeshi looked at a little bottle he kept in a pouch on his waist, and smiled again.

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**A/N: You people might be wondering why Orochimaru doesn't take over Takeshi's body because, as I stated before, Takeshi does in fact have the Sharingan eye. As to why, you'll find out in the next chapter when I write the battle between Team 23 of the Leaf ANBU and the Sound's Sound Four, and an assortment of other villains and bad guys. And also as to why I haven't updated in months is because I just can't find the time and schoolwork has really been piling up on me lately. **

**Pce**


	5. Chapter 5

Venia

Venia

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Forgotten Realms or anything else I might inadvertently add along the way.**

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ANBU Team 23 crept closer to the Sound base they were spying on.

"Captain, there are exactly 16 sentries at the base, there are 8 posts with two people at each one. The Uchiha, and Haruno have not been spotted yet. A few sound nin that we have recognized are part of an organization within the village called the Sound Four. We have also accurately found the identities of many more missing nin that have joined the village. By the looks of it, they are preparing for a battle of sorts. What should we do?"

"We go ahead as planned. Break into teams of two and label yourselves as A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, and I. I'll team up with the remaining member."

All the ninjas quickly formed their groups and spoke their letter through the com system.

"Remember, after taking out all the sentries, leave a shadow clone with the same appearance and keep moving. Silent kills, and infiltrate. Our mission is search and destroy. Get in, and get out."

All the members nodded their Okays and moved out.

Entreri and his partner, who had a boar mask moved from shadow to shadow making no noise and finally they got to the wall of the base. Directly above them were the two sentries assigned to that post.

He tapped the ANBU code through the com and got the "In position" blips from everyone. He then tapped in "Radio Silence unless Emergency" into the com and got no response.

'Good.' Entreri thought.

Looking towards his partner, he quickly flashed through the sign code and told him to go to the left and that Entreri would go right. Getting a nod, they disappeared.

On top of the wall the sentries never knew what hit them. One of them felt a hand wrap around his head and push it forward and then got his throat slit. The other, seeing his teammate go down spun to face his opponent. Nobody there. A sword pierced his heart and he fell to the ground. A small puff of smoke came as two kage bunshin's were summoned and they both transformed into images of the two dead sentries.

Entreri and boar crept down the wall like spiders until they hit the floor of the base.

'All Clear.' Entreri signed. A nod, and both moved into the base.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The infiltration began at night, and all 16 ANBU members were soon inside the base.

Then, a giant fireball lit up the dark starlit sky and the smell of charred bodies floated across the air. Entreri clicked the com buttons and only 14, including his, responded.

'Shit. They got us.'

"Break radio silence. We've been found out. Pull out, NOW!"

A lightning bolt streaked down from the clouds, and the smell of burnt flesh once again wafted through the air. Entreri and his Boar teammate neared the gate, until a sword poked through the chest of Boar's chest and he slumped over dead. Entreri spun around to face Boar's killer and was met with two Sharingan eyes that peered out at him from behind a white nondescript mask.

'Sasuke!' But then Entreri's quick thinking mind noticed the difference in movement, height, and stature. 'He moves like an Entreri… and he's quite a bit taller than Sasuke as well. Who is this?'

And before he could ponder anymore on the subject, two slender long swords stabbed at him in a double thrust low move and almost killed Entreri before the fight ever began, but was quickly evaded by the dagger wielder using a jump and pulling his weapons out in a fluid movement. From out of his belt sheath he pulled out his renowned dagger and from his back, he pulled out a finely bladed red long sword. Striking down at his opponent from his position in the air, Entreri thought that he had won.

It turned out he had underestimated the power of the sharingan, as it changed from three tomoes, to a Mangekyou. The pinwheel spinning rapidly, the sharingan user saw the movement and read it for what it was. Going into a low crouch, he skittered backwards and flipped both swords in the air, seemingly vulnerable. Entreri, understanding what his assailant was planning on doing, reached into one of his many pockets concealed in his cloak, and pulled out a curious looking gold coin. Drawing a few arcane symbols in the air before him, he whispered a few words into the coin and held it out before him. Meanwhile, the attacker flipped through handseals at an astoundingly rapid pace and fired off the biggest fireball Entreri had ever seen. The flames engulfed Entreri and it was seemingly the end for the famous weapon master as he was consumed by the fire. But as he was surrounded by the flames they disappeared when they touched the coin and soon the flames completely dissipated within the coin.

"And here I thought that Entreri's only fought with blades…" The newcomer stated.

"I could say the same. You move like one, you fight like one, yet you use chakra. Who are you?" Entreri responded.

"Me? I'm just somebody who wants to see you dead." And with the last word, he sprang forward one blade extended reaching for Entreri's heart. It penetrated Entreri and the blade master stood there with a blade protruding from his chest.

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And slowly disappeared.

'That's impossible… there's no way that could be an afterimage… unless-' his thoughts were cut off as a slight change in the air alerted him to Entreri's presence. Standing there, just a few feet away from where the image used to be, was Entreri.

"I see you've found my displacement cloak. It moves my image a short distance away from me and is activated by a mental command. Some ventriloquism, and a foolish opponent, and it makes for a quick kill. A type of permanent genjutsu, you might say." Entreri taunted.

The sharingan eyes blazed at him from beneath the mask. Growling in rage, he charged in a blurring attack leaving no openings and forcing the blade master backwards. From behind the wall of spinning blades, the sharingan eyes looked straight into the eyes of Entreri, hoping to force the assassin into a Tsukiyomi. But to his surprise, his mental attack failed and he hesitated for a moment.

That hesitation was all that Entreri needed as he reversed the momentum and took the offensive. A high strike aimed at the head and a middle strike poised to pierce the heart. As his blades closed in, his opponent regained his senses and parried both attacks. Entreri, his right foot forward, pivoted towards his right and spun to attack his assailant from the side. The sharingan wielder took a slight hit on his hip but shrugged it off as he spun and blocked the more dangerous dagger.

Breaking apart, the Entreri to the left, and his attacker to the right they stared at each other.

"It seems that you have many tricks up your sleeves. My mangekyou reads your moves sluggishly as if I only had one or two tomoes, your cloak, obviously that famed dagger, and that devilish red sword." Looking down at his hip, where the sword had only barely grazed him, he once again noted the slightly charred skin along the edge of the cut. "And as to who I am… my name is Takeshi."

"Takeshi… you move like an Entreri, in that tell tale toe-to-heel walking style, unlike the rest of our human counterparts who walk heel-toe. You also fight brilliantly with the sword, who taught you?"

"Taught me? Why, none other than Entreri the 6th." Flashing a cocky grin, he stepped back into a shadow, and began a move that Entreri the 7th, knew all to well. Eyes widening, the black mist surrounded him and soon the flashes of silver and the ringing of blades rang throughout the battle ground.

When the mist went away, all that was left was Entreri laying on the ground, bloody with multiple gashes all over and bleeding heavily. On the other side, Takeshi was standing there smiling.

"Fool… I have lived longer, studied more, trained more, and fought more. You can never hope to beat me, and you never will."

Holding up his slender long swords in a knight's salute, both in the air, he slowly brought them down to his sides, and walked up towards the 7th Entreri, and prepared to stab him in the heart with both swords. Entreri, lying there with blood spilling out of a deep wound on his side, and with his precious lifeblood slowly dripping out of his mouth, could do nothing. But then, with a last burst of strength, looked at a ring on his right hand, and willed himself away from there. In a bright flash of light that stunned all in the vicinity, Entreri vanished.

When Takeshi took his hands away from his eyes, he sighed, and said, "Maybe another day… you will come back, and when you do, I will kill you for sure, you… who have stolen my pride and my rightful title as Entreri the 7th."

Putting on a scowl, he walked back into the Sound compound.

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Lying in a pool of his own blood, Entreri could do nothing but stay there as he slowly died.

_Flashback_

"_Master, how am I compared to others that you have seen? Am I stronger than them? Weaker?"_

_The elder of the two looked down at the boy and responded, "You are stronger than most that I've seen, except for one. He was a student of mine."_

_The young boy peered up at the man from under his hood and asked, "You have taught another besides me?"_

"_Yes, many years ago… his name was Takeshi. A genius among geniuses, a prodigy that could've become the greatest assassin to have ever entered the shinobi realm, but he had one flaw, his hubris. His pride would not let me handle him as a subordinate. He knew that one day, he would be stronger than me, and he refused to wait until that day and wanted to be treated like the master. We had a great battle, and I forced him out. I loved him as my own son, and because of that I broke the greatest command passed down from the ages. I let him keep his chakra. My own pride played a part in his failure as well. I wished for him to become the greatest, so that I would last forever in the annals of history as the teacher of the best Entreri. So I created the first, and last Entreri Shinobi hybrid. For that I paid the price. In the last battle, he poisoned me, one that I have not found the cure to unless I confront my apprentice, something that I plan never to do."_

"_I see." The boy stored away the information in his mind and continued walking next to his teacher. Looking back up, the child noticed a slight mistiness in his mentor's eyes and realized that his master was still very much connected to that one student. _

_End Flashback_

Opening his eyes once more, he noticed a red chakra feebly flickering around him in a pitiful attempt to heal his wounds. Only the slightest of wounds were even affected, and even then to a minimal outcome.

'My tenant still wishes to live… ha… how ironic… once the greatest of them all, now dying as his container slowly dies away…'

He turned his body to look up into the night sky and saw the moon, probably for the last time. Letting out a sigh, he let go of all that held him to his body.

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Tsunade enjoyed her alone time. She was one who could think clearly and learn better in solitude more than with others. She sat under a tree taking in the sounds and smells of the natural world. Something that was slowly disappearing, she mused.

'This is the life. Nobody bothers me with silly questions, debt collectors not chasing me around here, and I can live in peace.' Tsunade smiled. As she sat there, her mind wandering, she sensed a flare of chakra not a mile away.

'Shit.' She cursed, 'This had better be good…'

The slug-sannin stood up and sped towards the disturbance. When she arrived at the area, she noticed first the stench of blood all around. Choking back her gag impulse she moved forward towards the center.

'Oh God…'

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'Is this how the most feared killer in all the shinobi nations will die?' Thought Entreri, 'Lying in a pool of his own blood in some obscure land? What irony… the gods themselves would laugh.'

He sensed her before he saw her. Someone approached. Most likely to finish the deed, he couldn't do anything either way, he was at the newcomer's mercy. A baby could kill him. He braced himself for his fate.

She saw him, and almost retched again. This kid was a goner. Definitely. He lost too much blood; this much was obvious by the copious amounts of the liquid surrounding him. It was a wonder he still lived. It was then she noticed the faint wispy tendrils of energy floating around his wounds and attempting to close them. A jinchuuriki.

Maybe all hope wasn't lost. She would try to do what she could for him. Tsunade noticed the two blades by the boy's sides and his ensemble of weapons and tools strapped to his arms and legs. The boy was a ninja. A most unfitting profession for one so young, she shook her head sadly. She began her emergency medical procedure on the spot. Pumping chakra into her hands she healed the cut arteries, the bleeding capillaries, and the multiple broken bones. She did what she could so that she could transport him. Gathering his equipment, and finally picking the boy up with much care, she shunshined away.

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He slowly opened his eyes as they adjusted to the world around him.

'It seems that I still live…' He turned his head and observed his surroundings. A standard room, with medical furnishings such as the IV drip connected to his arm and the multiple machines reading his vitals and such. He decided to check his body. Fingers, arms, shoulders, toes, legs, hip, chest. Everything seemed to be in order and working condition.

'A skilled medic nin must've healed me. But with my wounds and my blood loss… I should've been gone. Who could've possibly fixed me to this extent?' As he started sitting up, he felt a great pressure on his head. Moving his eyes to this new force, he noticed that it was a hand.

"You might not want to be moving so soon after getting such gruesome injuries. Especially since I stayed up all night fixing you up too."

It was a busty (not that he cared) blonde lady. This must be the medic nin, although she looks more like a slob than a professional. Tsunade took a long swig of her sake bottle.

"Ahhh… not even going to thank me kid?"

"I'm sorry for my rudeness. Thank you. I am Entreri."

"Entreri… (burp) well, I'm Tsunade, the Slug-sannin and famed medic-nin from Konoha."

Entreri's eyes grew wide. 'Impossible… this… drunkard is one of the three?'

Tsunade went on, "I noticed from your headband that you're a leaf nin as well. So last night I took the liberty of telling old man Sandaime that you were under my care for the time being. You're on temporary medical leave."

"How long must I stay here?"

"Until you're better."

"I feel better thanks to you, so may I leave?"

"No. You're not better. Obviously, you were in a battle with someone, and you got destroyed. If you meet this person again, will you have another miraculous trick that will save you? When I said better, I meant mentally stronger, physically stronger, and healthy. You are not to leave."

Entreri felt a small prick of anger. "So I am to learn from a drunken, aged, sannin. I refuse. What could you teach me that I could possibly use? Due to your medical treatment of me, you should realize my lack of a useable chakra system. You're a medic nin, trained in the use of CHAKRA to heal people. Something that I lack."

Hearing those words, Tsunade took an involuntary step back. 'This kid is angry, but at what? Me, or losing to that other guy?'

The sannin replied, "I can teach you strategy, a commonly overlooked part of ninja training. And if you want proof that this drunk, old, woman can actually teach you anything, let's have a fight. Out on that field." She blurred away.

Entreri sat there, strapped on his equipment, grabbed his sword and dagger, and left towards where the woman was waiting. He arrived and immediately stepped into a fighting stance.

'Dance Two. Brute Force.' He curled his lip in derision, the slug-sannin, famous for her superhuman strength, would crumble under his dance.

He dashed forward with both his weapons in the air and slammed them down at the sannin. Surprised at the speed and ferocity of his attack, she was momentarily dazed. His dagger bit into her arm and the long sword was not far behind it. Tsunade regained her senses at the pain that flew along her nerves and caught the second blade with a chakra enforced hand and slugged the boy in the face.

Entreri went flying backwards due to the extreme power behind the punch. 'Suck her soul? No… she deserves a far worse fate.' Taking a step forward his felt like it was hit with a ton of bricks. 'Shit… that punch…'

He concentrated on his areas of pain, quickly isolated them, and sent them to a far corner of his consciousness. Opening his eyes, the pain was gone. Starting where he had left off, dance two was back in commission. Stabbing with his sword at the sannin, he realized she was no longer there. He pulled his dagger behind his back and caught her punch with the flat of his dagger. His feet skid on the ground but now she was off balance and it was the perfect chance.

Spinning left with his sword in his right hand he chopped at her side while keeping his dagger near his chest. The sannin barely had time to pull up a chakra block to it, but not fast enough to avoid impact. Pressing his advantage, Entreri lashed out with his foot and caught the blonde in the shoulder. He began with a flurry of swings, stabs, and chops, all powered with as much force as he could muster. Each muscle in his body worked in unison as they had one singular goal. Defeat the sannin.

Tsunade was hard pressed to block each hit as his speed suddenly increased. 'Can he really keep this up?' Mentally shrugging her shoulders, she concentrated on her next move. A chance opened. Grabbing the sword with a chakra enforced hand, she used her superior strength to pull it towards her and slammed Entreri with her free hand. Following him into the air she kneed his chest and took both elbows to smash him back towards the ground.

Spitting out blood in the air, Entreri righted himself and landed on the ground. The lady was gone. Left, Right, Front, Back, Up… DOWN! He jumped into the air just as a hand broke free of the earth. Mind racing, he realized the precarious position he had left himself him. Being in the air was a giant disadvantage, because he could not create the miniature chakra steps that ninja's used to stay in the air. There was no friction to keep him from moving.

Tsunade smiled as the boy jumped into the air. Jumping up to meet him she grabbed his face and threw it to the field. But to her dismay, his hand grabbed her wrist and switched their positions in the air, she felt herself getting thrown back. Entreri looped ninja wire through multiple kunai and flung them at the blonde.

The sannin felt the wire on her skin as the kunai increased her acceleration with theirs. Slamming into the ground she noticed Entreri pulling out a curious looking gold coin and drawing some symbols in the air. Gathering air into his mouth, he released the stored attack within the coin. **Katon: Goukakyuu No Jutsu**

Her eyes widened. 'Shit. The kid is taking this way too far. It's time to end this.' Breaking free of the wires, she dodged the consuming fire and moved to the boy. He noticed this and moved to meet her. Tsunade had already analyzed his movements and discerned what to do. Entreri moved on regardless. He sent a flurry of attacks her way but was surprised as she dodged each one and appeared right in front of his face.

"Strategy." After hearing that last word, he passed out, courtesy of Tsunade.

"He's good…" Shizune stepped out of the nearby forest. "Was that strategy, or a last ditch attempt to stop a weapon out of control?"

Tsunade stared at the prone boy in front of her. "Who could have done this to him? So much power, but at such a young age, I'm afraid if nobody gets to him, then he'll snap."

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The Next Day…

Entreri woke up in the same room as he reviewed the fight in his mind. Not a detail was lost on him as his analytical mind coupled with his photographic memory picked apart the battle piece by piece.

'She was playing with me the entire time, all up till the very end. The look on her face as the jutsu approached was sheer surprise, not the calculated looks she had earlier. I must improve, maybe she could teach me.'

Getting up, his stomach rumbled… he hadn't eaten since… two days ago. He stumbled out of his room and was blasted in the face by…

the stench of delicious cooking.

_Rumble… grumble… grrroowwll… _**(Translation- Feed me. Give me food. I'm huuuungry.)**

His stomach was talking to him. He had no choice but to submit, it seemed that today his stomach was hungrier than usual. Shizune was in the kitchen setting the table and his mouth involuntarily watered. His discipline was failing, must work on that too. Frowning, he began eating.

Shizune saw the frown and thought Entreri didn't like her cooking, she pouted, and went to wake up Tsunade. Tsunade slowly ambled across the hall and went to begin eating as well.

"So… boy, are you going to accept my tutelage? Or is this old good-for-nothing sannin too low for your standards?"

Beating down his anger (at least some of his control over his body worked --") he replied, "Yes, please forgive my impudence the day before; I believe my words were out of place in the face of authority and wisdom."

Not expecting such a straightforward answer Tsunade was momentarily speechless. 'He is… odd.'

"Uhh… sure, I forgive you. Now, after breakfast," She was interrupted by a particularly loud slurp, "we will begin training. Oh yeah, don't bring any equipment, we're not going to be fighting."

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6 months later…

Dear Jiraiya,

It's been a while hasn't it? Are you still up to the usual? Writing those disgusting porn books, you'll never change will you? Things around here have changed, we've got a new resident that's staying with us. You'll probably know of him considering your knowledge of all things weird and obscure. His name's Entreri. He's been with me and Shizune for 6 months now and I've been training him. Training concentrated on the mind more than the body, although, his fighting ability has gone up since when I first met him.

I've been teaching him about strategy, and I have reason to believe that he's a genius. Not just any ordinary genius mind you, but a genius among geniuses. I remember you telling me about the Nara clan, and their prodigy son Shikamaru. This Nara boy cannot hold a candle to the amount of skill that Entreri has. Within minutes of fighting, he can change his original fight plan based off of analyzing the opponents' movements. Now sure, most ninja's are called to change plans on the drop of a hat but his extraordinary plans continue to dazzle me. He thinks at least 10 steps ahead, and at most, well, I'm not sure how high he can go, given that most people wouldn't last 5 minutes against him. He's changed me, and I've changed him.

He first came here emotionless and cold. On the first day, I managed to rile him up and get him to fight me. I told him about my strategy that day, and he still can't believe that it was all planned. But either way, we've developed a relationship (not a sick one you disgusting pervert!) as sort of mother to son type of thing. Shizune has become like a sister and he's opened up more and more. Due to his upbringing as a weapon, he still can't understand what's happening. But little by little we're cracking that shell of death and blood around him and trying to meet the real person behind the name of Entreri. I'm sorry to tell you that I'm not likely to see the end result, but I believe that it will be good.

He told me about another Entreri still out in the world, one that is (hopefully was) still stronger than him, and the catalyst for our eventful meeting. He controls both powers of the ninja, and of the assassin Entreri. Entreri told me of the other's will to destroy him in order to secure the position of the real Entreri. I'm afraid that he's learned of Entreri's whereabouts, and of me as well. When the time comes, and the other arrives here, I don't think that I'll leave alive. So this letter, is to inform you of the growth of this young man, and of my possible ending. I cherished all of our time together, and yes, even with Orochimaru. I'm sorry we couldn't stop him, and I'm sorry I couldn't reciprocate your feelings. I have placed a seal on this letter that will turn blood red if I have left this world and blue if I still live.

Currently Entreri is on a mission given by me to Suna. Although you must already know this, the Shukaku container has lost sanity and broke free of it's seal. Gaara has passed away, but the demon still runs free and is destroying the surrounding countryside. Entreri was sent to test his power and to hopefully put an end to the menace. It should take him a while, so I'll most likely pass away during the time he's gone. When I'm gone, take care of him and let him not be consumed with hate and the desire for revenge. He's a few steps away from the edge, and if he falls over, I'm afraid that there is no turning back. Take care of him please, this is my last request.

I've lived a full and happy life and I harbor no regrets for any of the actions I've taken. All of my debts are paid (surprisingly) and all my medical knowledge is stored in a safe beneath my home. Only two others know of it. Entreri and Shizune. I pray that we meet somewhere in the afterlife away from bloodshed and warfare. Stay safe and live a happy life Jiraiya.

With love,

Tsunade

P.S. If you ever do happen to take care of Entreri, you better not introduce him to Icha Icha or by God I will return from the dead to beat you so badly that you won't be able to breath without a tube. Love.

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Jiraiya read this letter with tears streaming down his face. His teammate had sent her last letter to him and now both his best friends in the entire world were gone. Orochimaru left to be consumed by ambition and hate, and now Tsunade had left due to the hands of a crazed swordsman.

The seal was blood red.

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At the same time Jiraiya read the letter, Entreri stepped into his home. This home had been his refuge for the past six months, and as far as he could remember, the best six months ever. He knew that he had changed, physically, mentally, and emotionally. His mother figure, Tsunade, and his sister Shizune. When he had entered the premises of the house he had known something was wrong. He smelled blood and steel. A most uncommon smell.

It had been about a month since he left for his mission to Suna. He had defeated the monster, but at the cost of some of his dagger's powers. No longer could he take a small cut and retreat to a safe distance to quickly end the battle, but now he had to keep contact with the victim. But with this sacrifice, he had gained two new prizes. Shukaku, and a now upgraded Charon's Claw (his red long sword). After absorbing Shukaku with his dagger, the amount of power taken damaged his blade but in return, he acquired the control of the sand as Shukaku's former container had. And also due to a near death experience in his first encounter with Shukaku, he met Kyuubi, his tenant and forged a deal with the demon. Now his gauntlet was able to take any chakra powered attack and capture it. Then he could in turn shoot it back out at will. But it seemed that in his absence, something bad had happened to his home.

He walked in through the front door and was struck by the dreaded stench of death. He slowly crept forward and his heart grew heavier with each step. The ominous feeling kept on twisting his stomach into knots and he was finally greeted by the sight that would haunt him for years.

Tsunade was upside down pinned to the wall. Her genjutsu was gone and in it's place was a wrinkled old woman. Her feet were nailed to the wall and the hilt of a massive sword protruded from her chest. Her throat was slit open and her arms were stuck to the wall with kunai and daggers. Shuriken were scattered over her body and the blood had long since dried and was left in a gruesome patter on the wall. Arterial spray was on one wall and blood was left all over the room. Weapons were left on the floor and there were many holes, and chakra burns all over the room to give proof of the devastating battle that had taken place. He fell to his knees as his heart burst and tears flowed freely from his eyes.

He had spent so many happy days with her and Shizune. So many days that ran through his mind like a slideshow. Each time she hugged him, each time she doted over small little things, and each time that they trained together. All of it was done now. Now that she was dead and gone forever.

'Tsunade and Shizune… wait… Where's Shizune?'

Struck by this new thought his mind raced furiously. He sprang from his seated position on the floor and began searching the house for his 'sister'. To his relief, Shizune was nowhere in the building and in the nearby vicinity. But where could she be? Tsunade must've known of the attack ahead of time and sent Shizune away. 'Just like she did with me…'

He went to her office and found it in its usual state of disorder. He found a particularly fat letter on the top addressed to him. 'Yes, she had known of this attack, and in order to keep me safe, sent me away.'

Reading the letter, he was gratified to learn that Shizune was on a mission in Konoha, and that she was safe. But he was also saddened by the loss of his mentor and 'mother'. The letter told him about Jiraiya in Konoha, and that she left her extensive medical records to him. The letter expressed her wishes of him to return to Konoha and to not seek revenge for the fate that had most likely befallen her. The Sandaime knew of her teaching Entreri and would accept Entreri back any time. He was listed under medical leave and that his position in the ANBU was still waiting for him.

'She wants me to not take revenge. But how can I? I know who's done this, and I know why. To get at me. That's all he cares about, to kill me and to take the title of Entreri. He's a menace to the free world and a threat to my existence. He killed Tsunade to get me. I have no choice but to kill him.'

He was stuck in indecision, whether to obey the dying wish of his mentor, or to follow his instincts and to kill Takeshi. But he also understood that even with his newfound power, that it would not be enough to cover the skill gap. He gritted his teeth and decided to follow his 'mother's wish. For the time being of course. The wound would never go away, nor would he let it. Takeshi will die.

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**HELLO!! READ BELOW!! VERY IMPORTANT!! 0.o 0.o 0.o 0.o 0.o 0.o 0.o 0.o 0.o 0.o 0.o 0.o LOOK DOWN BELOW!!**

**AN: Sorry about the long wait for the update. I got my laptop back through divine intervention. (Thank God for merciful mothers.) I had almost all A's. All A's and one B- (stupid Spanish class). Whew, well that crisis is over. Now that I have my laptop back I believe that I can update as fast as I can. I'd like to thank all of you who have voted on my poll that was on my profile. It's decided that there will be a pairing between Entreri and a girl. I have yet to decide which girl it is, but if you remember from my profile, it will definitely NOT be Sakura or Hinata. I have also ruled out Shizune, Kurenai, and the women older than him. (I think it's kinda weird for like a dude to marry a girl who was like 15 when he was born.) Well anyways, I might put up a poll about the pairing. **

**I might update once a month or faster. Yes, it does seem like a ridiculously long amount of time but hey, I have a life outside of my laptop too you know. .**

**Well, thanks for reading and all the reviews! Tell me what you think and give me input PLEASE!!**

**TheName-Cho**


	6. Chapter 6

Venia

Venia

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Forgotten Realms or anything else I might inadvertently add along the way.**

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Takeshi would die by his hands. That much was decided. But how to overcome the skill barrier that came between them? Yes, he had the power of Shukaku and his swords, but would it be enough? He needed a test of his power.

'Itachi. Perfect, I had wished to fight him earlier, but now I have another reason to seek him out as well.'

He first took Tsunade down from the wall with as much care as he could muster. He cleansed her bloodied skin and stitched all the wounds back together. After hours of taking care of his mentor's corpse, he was finally finished. Tsunade had prepared for her death ahead of time and had put a casket in the safe at the bottom of the house as well. It was up to him to return her back to Konoha.

Entreri gathered all important possessions outside of the house, and proceeded to burn it down. There were too many memories. Memories that he had no use for, memories that would only make the pain worse. He would have to rid himself of those emotions. There was only one way that he knew how, and it was what he did best.

Fighting, killing, drenching himself in the blood of his enemies, yes, it was what he was created for, and what he lived for. He would once again throw himself back into his old lifestyle, all in order to right the wrong that Takeshi had done. This was all for Tsunade. A righteous cause. Now more than ever, he was ready, due to the training that Tsunade had given him, and also due to his new acquisitions. But most importantly, he had to return Tsunade to her rightful resting place, Konoha.

As the fire flickered across the nighttime sky, he slowly picked through his heart and destroyed each shred of emotion that he had once held during his time with the sannin. And as the fire died and the embers grew cold, so did his heart. He felt so much in relation to that fire, the fire that was his heart. It burned bright, and it seemed that it would last forever, but as reality set in, he knew that the fire, like his happiness, would soon be smothered by the world. The fire would pass away, as would the fire within his soul.

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1 week later-

Almost every person in Konoha had turned out for the funeral, shinobi and civilian alike. All were dressed in black mourning garb and all holding red roses. At the front of the crowd stood Entreri, stone-faced and seemingly unaffected by the sadness and sorrow around him. But on the inside however, was a different story.

'The second time someone I've opened up two has died. Am I doomed to a fate like this? All around me is a cycle of death, all those involved get murdered, those who leave me be stay safe, and in order to complete this circle, those who are my enemies must die. This is the path you've chosen Takeshi, and a path in which you will pay the ultimate price.'

After much words were spoken on behalf of the slug-sannin, after all the tears were shed, only one was left in front of the casket still holding his flower. His lips were moving in a slow, silent murmur as if talking to one who lay at the center of the grief.

'May your soul rest in peace Tsunade-sensei. I will avenge your death, even if you were against it, for I cannot live with one such as Takeshi breathing. A monster that will never stop unless his hunger has been sated, his hunger for my death. This is the most despicable type of being, and he is one who has taken a person who I hold in such high regard, just to spite me. These will be his last days Tsunade, I swear it! By my own hand, he will be killed. Please forgive my actions, but it must be done.'

With those parting thoughts, Entreri left his rose on the top of her casket; the lone flower, for all the others had been placed around it. Just as he left, the rain began to drizzle down, as if God himself was crying at the depressing irony of the situation. Entreri was forced to kill his own heart, in order to avenge the one who had given him his emotions to begin with. When the blade master returned home, he was drenched, cold, and empty. But he knew that the worst was yet to come. In order to kill Takeshi, sacrifices must be made.

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A few days later-

Blades rang out across the training grounds as the two combatants danced in and out of their respective combat styles. The older fighter, a sickly looking young man with an ANBU style sword began his most deadly move, while his opponent, a young boy prepared with his dagger and long sword.

The time for preparation was over and the dance began. Both moved so quickly that the only time they were visible was when their blades were locked. The younger was hard pressed to keep the sword away from his body but was also in the meantime revising his own plan for attack. His training those past six months had made him a faster thinker and a better fighter. The elder, Gekkou Hayate (?), swung down his sword with all his might but only to have it blocked by the red sword of Entreri. Using his dagger, he swiped at Hayate's feet making the man jump into the air. Hayate saw the boy in front of him and began to charge down at the boy but was stopped by a voice at his back.

"Where do you think I really am?" Hayate froze. He turned his head but only got a glimpse of blonde hair flashing past him. He looked around for a few moments as he took a breather and regained his senses.

'He's fast.' The sickly shinobi sent chakra out in all directions and pinpointed Entreri's location. Compensating for the amount of time it took for himself to register the information, he swung in the air, precisely where Entreri should be. Keyword, 'should'. This boy seemed to break all the normal laws of sword fighting, but then again, he'd been trained by an assassin, not a swordsman.

Panicking he decided to defeat Entreri using brute force. Spinning to find his opponent, he found himself being pushed back by a heavy blow that he was blocking using both of his hands. When Entreri broke off the attack, Gekkou was back on solid ground. Feeling something give way under his feet, he pumped chakra into his legs and jumped away just as an explosion rocked the field. A figure burst through the flames, a figure that was none other than Entreri, both weapons at the ready.

Eyes widening, Hayate found himself barely able to keep up with the dizzying attack pattern set by Entreri, but was given a moment of respite as Entreri suspiciously broke off once more. It seemed that he was in the middle of what could only be described as a spider web pattern of ninja wire. He was trapped. But it seemed that Entreri had forgotten one thing. All the wires were touching each other in at least one point, and that he was a shinobi who could use any amount of techniques that were at his disposal.

Flipping his hands rapidly through handseals, he released a lighting bolt from his hands and pumped as much chakra as he could into the attack. Due to the overload of electricity into the wires, they shattered. But another catastrophe occurred just as he finished his move. A ring of fire had appeared on all sides of him.

'Is this all planned? What the hell is this kid?' The fire rolled inwards as if seeking the target within it's circle. Having no choice, he jumped into the air. Only to be greeted with the sight of Entreri and his blades. The match was over, and this time Hayate had no more tricks to get him out.

When all the fires had died down Hayate sat down with Entreri to discuss their training session. Hayate started the conversation, "That was one helluva fight."

Entreri replied, "Yes, indeed."

"Tell me one thing. Was that entire last part planned by you?"

"Yes. It was a 12 part plan that I concocted by gathering information on you during our fight and your most likely possible forms of retaliation under certain circumstances. The first part was when we locked blades and I swiped at your feet, thus making you jump into the air. The second part was making you believe that I was still down in front of you. The third was appearing behind you and taunting you with the statement, Where do you think I really am. Four, I predicted that you would sent out that chakra burst to discern my location. During the time you were recovering from my question, I was setting up the last few parts of my scheme. I would push you down back towards an area that I put a pressure pad on, and you, feeling that pad, would pump chakra into your legs and jump away. The chakra that you sent to your feet traveled into special explosive tags that I had hooked up to it. The resulting explosion would create enough distraction that I could attack you without you putting up defenses in advance.

I would then launch into an extremely complicated kata that you could fend off, but be hard pressed to keep up with, and thus maneuver you into the spider web of shinobi wire. I predicted that you would either use a fire technique to melt the wires, or to destroy them using a raiton jutsu. Either way would've caused my plan to succeed, the energy/heat from either of those techniques would set off the tags I set in a circle around the center of the web, your location. You would jump away to avoid the fire, and then I would take you down."

Hayate's face drooped. 'They called me a prodigy… and look at this kid. If I'm a prodigy, then what is he? A mad crazy super genius? Wow…'

"What would you have done if I had found some other way to break your plan?"

"Made revisions."

The curt answer killed the conversation. It seemed that Entreri didn't know how to keep a discussion going…

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Entreri sighed. These missions were easy… ridiculously easy.

'A Class mission?' He scoffed. 'Feels like a B class or maybe as bad as a C.'

He was assigned to track down rogue ninja that were terrorizing the populace. These were genin level shinobi. Pathetic, he cut them down with ease.

"I feel that I need harder missions." He stood in front of the Hokage's desk. "And solo missions, my teammates, although they are good, are mere hindrances in my fighting style."

Sandaime heaved a great sigh as he listened to the request of his most troublesome soldier. "I'll do my best to give you your mission. But for now, there is only a B rank mission that is available for a solo fighter."

'If only to escape the monotony of civilian life.' "I'll take it."

He took the folder and turned on his heel to leave the room. 'A B rank? What was I thinking?'

He leapt off into the night.

Entreri had found his targets. It seemed that they were a rouge band of missing nin who terrorized the local populace. Lately they had tried something big and caught the attention of Leaf and was now given to Entreri.

He formulated a plan. A plan to relieve some of his pent up stress. Entreri was located on a ledge about 20 feet above the enemy camp. He took a few steps back to get a running start. Tensing his muscles, he sprinted forward.

When he reached the edge of the ledge, he pushed off and landed in the midst of the enemy camp. Both swords out, he was in a low fighting crouch. **(Think Halo Wars)**

'Cool entrance, Check.'

All the enemy nins were caught by surprise but their leader quickly reorganized them into a circle around the newcomer. Entreri grinned.

'An old fashioned all out brawl, just what the doctor ordered.' He sprang forward to the nin in front of him and swiped with both his swords. Slicing open the first guy's throat drenched him with arterial spray which added to his deathly visage and gave him the appearance of a death god come to take their souls.

His maniacal grin scared them even more. But too petrified to move Entreri moved through their ranks scoring hits on all the soldiers. A few regained their senses and put up fights but to no avail. The skill gap was too wide. Finally, just the leader remained. A moment later, Entreri was at his neck, his blade poised to strike the man dead. But he stayed his hand and whispered.

"Go to Sound, and tell Takeshi that Entreri is back."

'**Blood, yes! BLOOD!!' **A voice screamed in the back of Entreri's head. Entreri swiftly dealt with the intrusion by imagining a mental door and slamming the voice into the room and closed the door. He had complete control of his body, mind, and soul. The benefits of training with a sannin.

He held his opponent by the scruff of his neck and reared his arm back, and threw the man in the general direction of sound.

"I've given you a good heading to Sound, don't miss it." The scared nin nodded wildly and scrambled off.

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Entreri was back in his apartment and was laying on his bed. Going within his mind, he imagined Kyuubi behind a cage and materialized in front of his tenant.

"Kyuubi-sama." He went on a knee. It was better to be respectful to a being higher than he. "I request permission to speak."

"**Granted, speak your mind Entreri."**

"I have come with an idea. And due to the fact that I wish to seek out Uchiha Itachi as a measurement of my power, I might end up on a losing side and risk forfeiting my life. I would ask that you grant me some of your power in order to heighten my own. I control Shukaku's sand, and with your fire ability, I would be able to grow exponentially."

"**What would I gain from granting you my abilities?"**

"Gain? Would a weak container be of any use to you? Would not it be in your best interest that I stay alive?"

"**You make a strong argument, a weak jinchuuriki shames not only himself, but the demon within him as well.I will give you my fire ability, it includes the ability to summon fire at your very whim, although I'm not sure how it will react with Shukaku's sand, I believe that you might be able to fuse the two if you wish."**

"You are too kind Kyuubi-sama. I as your humble servant will try to glorify your name through my works. I give my thanks to you."

"**Good human, at least you know your place. Now be gone from my presence. Your exploits had better amuse me or I will rescind my powers."**

"As you wish." He bowed and melted away.

_Real World_

Entreri opened his eyes and reviewed the conversation that he had with the beast within him. 'For now will I serve, but soon, I will gain the power of gods and all your power shall be mine to take.'

The sand he kept in a pouch near him reacted to his emotions and swirled around him. Entreri practiced manipulating the sand with thoughts instead of hand movements. Then he willed fire to appear and it did.

At first the fire and sand existed cooperatively but soon they began to mesh creating glass in the sand's wake. 'Could I also control this glass?' He tried exerting his force on the newly created glass shards, but nothing came of his attempts.

He laid the sand to rest and concentrated on his fire. 'A new weapon at my disposal, fire.'

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**A/N: Sorry for the short and extremely slow chapter. Right now I'm kind of going through writers block. I know the plot I'm going to use, but the words just don't flow together as I hoped they would. In the meantime, I think I'm going to edit my old chapters to make them better written. **

**Some of you might be worrying that Entreri will become godlike and super powerful, but all that new energies within him will create lots of problems for him that will hinder his growth. So DON'T WORRY!!**

**In one of my earlier chapters Entreri has the dream of becoming the ruler of the world, that part of the story is the main plot, but many smaller ones bar the way for him to acquire the position that he desires. **

**I NEED INPUT FROM MY READERS TO KNOW WHAT THEY THINK!! DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!! IN ORDER TO IMPROVE MY WRITING I NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S WRONG!!**

**I'll try to get back on track, wish me luck!**

**-TheName-Cho**


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